


As the Sparks Fly

by Nightfoot



Category: Tales of Vesperia
Genre: Angst, Christmas, Drama, Gen, Modern AU, Religious Elements, angel au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-09
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-02-28 17:37:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 18
Words: 104,570
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2741225
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nightfoot/pseuds/Nightfoot
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Estelle was just trying to get through the Christmas season when some freak tried to kill her, and she was rescued by some guys who are even stranger. She finds herself pulled into a mess of angels and demons, and for some reason she seems to be at the middle of it all. Modern AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Good Tidings for Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This story was prompted by an anonymous person on tumblr, who asked me to write about Flynn as an angel. Well, it sparked a story that ended up far more complex and lengthy than either of us were expecting. It will update once a day until Christmas.
> 
> I'd also like to make a note that due to the nature of this story, religion plays a heavy role - specifically Christianity. It was not my intention to make this either for or against religion, and the beliefs of the characters should not be taken as my own beliefs, or that any one of them is necessarily right.

" _…Have yourself a merry little Christmas_

_Make the Yuletide gay…"_

The radio was set to a low volume, but it filled the silence of the almost-empty shop. It was a cover by some pop singer with too much synth, but Estelle had to admit it was better than some of the other songs that popped up on 24-hour Christmas channels. If she had to listen to "Santa Baby" again, she was going to scream.

The best thing Estelle had to say for Christmas this year was that at least her boss had waited until December first to decorate the shop. Stores in the area had been plastering Santa's face on things since mid-October, but Drake's Books was a classy establishment and that meant Christmas was confined to December. It did not, however, mean that he had the employee base to hire multiple people to put up the decorations. Estelle was the one on shift this evening, so it was her job to finish decorating the store. She'd already hung wreaths on the walls and strung garland around the counter, and all she needed to do now was finish decorating the miniature plastic tree sitting on the counter.

She glanced at the clock. It was ten minutes to eight, and then she was going home whether this tree was finished or not. It had been one of  _those_  Mondays and the thought of her warm bed was the only thing keeping her going. She'd already spent the whole day at school and there was a page of calculus in her backpack under the front counter that she wanted to get done before heading to bed. She'd gotten caught up asking her teacher for help with it after school, but his explanation ran long and she wound up missing her bus. This made her five minutes late to work, and Mr. Dropwart did not suffer excuses lightly. There hadn't even been time to change out of her school uniform, leaving her wearing her red plaid skirt and yellow sweater all afternoon.

The bell over the door jingled as a man walked in.  _Oh, no_. She glanced at the clock again and sighed. "We close in six minutes," she called over her shoulder.

"Oh, don't worry about me," he said smoothly. "I'm just looking."

He stood in front of the broad front window, examining the display of picture books, cooking books, and craft books spread across the white cotton. Supposedly, it looked like snow. Teddy bears with Santa hats held cardboard baby books and shining plastic baubles hung from the window frame. Estelle thought it looked quite nice, objectively speaking, but couldn't stop the tremor of resentment as she eyed the festive display. It was because she'd gotten a paper-cut hanging up those posters, she told herself.

Estelle looked back at the ceramic Charles Dickens bust she was hanging on the tree a few branches away from ceramic Edward Allen Poe and William Shakespeare.  _Maybe I should re-read your book, Mr. Dickens. I'm certainly in the 'bah, humbug!'_   _mood this year_. It had only been December for just under twenty hours, and she was ready to shove the entire holiday season in a box in the attic and never look back.

"What a nice tree."

She jolted; the man had snuck up behind her. No, that was rude; she'd been distracted and hadn't noticed him approach.  _Snuck_  implied he was being malicious. "Thank you. Can I help you find something, sir?"

"Oh, no, I'm just browsing."

He was an odd-looking fellow. The man was tall and thin, wearing straight black slacks and shiny black shoes. Black was the general theme of the entire ensemble, from the sharp winter coat trimmed in pale purple to the collar poking out. On second glance, he even wore a black necktie, though it blended in with his shirt and made it hard to pick out. Perhaps his plan was to make his face stand out, because he'd dyed his hair an unmissable powder blue and Estelle was certain he'd applied some colour to his lips. Out the window, she spotted a sleek black car on the side of the road.

Estelle affixed a ceramic Agatha Christie to the tree and called it done. The man seemed to be standing unnecessarily close, so she tried not to make it obvious she was avoiding him as she scooted around the counter. It formed a nice barrier between them. "I don't mean to rush you, sir, but we close in three minutes." She maintained her cheerful customer service smile, but internally she screamed,  _get out of this shop this instant. I'm not staying here a minute past eight_. She'd had a sandwich during a break about three hours ago, but she was starting to get hungry again and eager to get home to her kitchen.

The man leaned forward and folded his arms on the counter. His eyes darted around and landed on the security camera over her head. The way he minutely frowned made her spine tingle. Estelle had received enough stranger-danger PSAs throughout her childhood to pick up on the major creepy vibes this guy was giving off.

"Do you work here full-time?"

"Part time. I'm still in high-school." If he wanted to hit on her, maybe letting him know she was still underage would put him off.

"Ah, yes, I see from your uniform. Is it a private school?"

"Yes. A good one; students come from all over the city." So it would be useless to use her school's location to narrow down an area she lived in. Of course, Estelle  _did_  live not far from her school, but he didn't need to know that.

The man's purplish lips smiled. Maybe he thought it looked stylish, but it just reminded Estelle of someone suffocating. "There's no need to be antsy, my dear. My name is Alexander Cumore. It's nice to make your acquaintance." He stuck out his hand.

Estelle took it slowly. The clock ticked past 7:59. She lightly brushed his fingers in a polite shake that hopefully wouldn't cause a scene, but he tightened his grip and held her firmly. His hands were thin and spindly like spiders, but he had a surprisingly strong grip.

"And what's your name, dear?"

Estelle blurted the first name that came to mind. "Rita."

"What a lovely name,  _Miss Rita_." His lips twitched as he spoke and Estelle got the distinct impression he knew she was lying.

She glanced at the clock again. "Sir, it's past closing time now. I'm afraid you're going to need to leave."

"Ah, so it is. It was very nice to meet you, Rita. Have a safe walk home."

The bell jingled again as he walked out. Estelle didn't move until she watched him climb into his car and drive away. When he was gone, she shuddered and impulsively wiped her hand on her skirt. What a creep.

At least it was time to go home. By now she was starving and her mouth watered as she imagined the delicious leftover pasta in her fridge. She closed up the shop as quickly as she could. Outside, she pulled her jacket tighter and started the walk home. She lived just far enough for it to be a pain to walk it, but not so far that walking to the nearest bus stop and waiting fifteen minutes for the next bus was worth the effort.

There weren't many people on the streets tonight. They'd gotten all the drinking and partying out of their systems over the weekend, and the urge wouldn't build up again until at least Thursday. Her breath fogged as she walked, but it hadn't snowed yet. Estelle hoped they didn't get very much this year; it would make the walk home even more tedious.

As she walked, she went over her calculus homework in her head. This class was going to be the death of her. Math had never been her forte, but she'd foolishly thought taking the advanced placement version of calculus was doable. In part it was because her mom wanted her to, but she also thought it would give her an extra edge on university applications. She couldn't drop out now, or her transcripts would be messed up and she might not get into a top university. She just had to buckle down and figure it out, and invite Rita over to help with her homework whenever she could.

Her path took her between the flat wall of an industrial building and the back of an apartment building. A row of balconies rose above her, but nobody was out tonight. Just before she'd turned the corner, she'd seen some guy up ahead talking on his cellphone, but now the only sign of life she saw were some lights glowing behind curtains high above her head. The sidewalk was narrow and only on one side of the road here. There were other, much nicer, routes she could take home, but this one was both shorter and devoid of the overbearing lights and Christmas decorations strung up along the main roads.

When did Christmas turn into a whole  _season_ , anyway? It was supposed to be a day to celebrate the birth of Christ, but it had turned into a three-month-long hullabaloo over a jolly old elf. Of course, it wasn't that Estelle was personally offended Jesus was getting ignored on his own birthday. Well… maybe. She really wasn't sure how she felt about that, actually. Usually at this time of year, her church was getting into the Christmas spirit, too. Estelle had been an angel in the annual nativity play for ten years in a row as a child. But this year, well…

Estelle sighed and her breath turned into a large cloud. It just wasn't a Christmassy year. A car pulled past the intersection up ahead. Estelle paid it no mind, because there were thousands of black cars in Zaphias. She did, however, stop to pay attention when she saw who got out of the car.

Her heart skipped a beat. Perhaps it was a coincidence. After all, there was no way Cumore could have followed her. Still, Estelle slowed down her pace when she saw Cumore round the vehicle. When he started walking down her road, she spun around. There was no way he just happened to have business on this same stretch of deserted road. She didn't want to run, because then he would start running too and he could likely outrun her. If she could just stay calm and walk at a brisk pace until she reached the other road, everything would be fine. There were people on that road, like the guy on his cellphone. She had no idea who he was, but he wasn't actively threatening her so she pegged her hopes on flagging him down for help. At the very least, he could call 911 on his phone. Her own phone was buried in her backpack, and she didn't have time to stop and dig it out before Cumore caught up with her.

Footsteps came closer and she quickened her pace. She was so close to the other street now. A glance over her shoulder showed how near Cumore had gotten, and she broke into a run. Her black school shoes were not the best for running and her backpack, full of textbooks, thumped against her back and slowed her down. Then the straps yanked backward as Cumore grabbed it and pulled.

Estelle gasped and slipped out of the straps, but not fast enough. A bony hand clenched around her bicep and pulled her back. Her heart drummed and she struggled to breathe through the panic. She tried to scream but it came out as a whimper.

Cumore yanked her back and shoved her against the corrugated metal of the industrial building. Even the freezing metal wasn't colder than the look in Cumore's eyes. She had thought she knew exactly what this man wanted from her, but she didn't see lust in those eyes. Nothing but an emotionless determination bore into her as he locked his eyes on her and raised his hands to her throat.

His thumbs dug into her windpipe and Estelle gasped. Rational thinking flew out the window. She clawed at his hands, digging her fingernails in and struggled to overpower him. His cold iron grip dug into her neck and cut off all air. It was impossible to coordinate an escape with her mind in such panic, so her arms and legs flew at him in a wild rush. Her lungs starved for air and her mouth instinctively flapped to try to suck in oxygen. Nothing could get past his fingers, though, and her vision was already growing fuzzy. She smashed her head against the metal wall with a loud  _clang!_  Maybe that would alert someone! It was her only chance. She kicked again as her vision faded, but it was weaker this time. Her hands grasping at his arms barley jarred him now.

 _Please… it can't end like this_ …

Her eyesight tunnelled. The hands just squeezed tighter and tighter until it felt like he would pop her head right off. She thought she heard footsteps pattering on the cement, but it might just be her imagination.

Then something happened that she  _knew_  was a dying hallucination. Through the fog of looming unconsciousness, something glowed. Golden light fell from the sky and she could have sworn she saw a person silhouetted against the light. Then the fog grew dark and she slipped into blackness.

"Hey," came a soft voice. A gentle hand rubbed the side of her head. "Can you hear me?"

Estelle blinked. Everything was still blurry, but she saw a lot of navy blue and a smidgen of red. Her eyesight cleared and the red solidified into a band around a brimmed cap. The blue was a navy jacket, as well as hair. It wasn't the pastel blue of Cumore, though, but a dark indigo. "I'm…" she coughed and put her hand to her aching throat. "F-fine." She had never been so happy to see a police officer. "Where…?" Talking hurt, so she tried to keep her questions down. That was a problem, because she had a lot of questions.

The woman kneeling in front of her was obviously a cop, but the two men standing behind her were obviously not. One of them had long black hair and a leather jacket and seemed vaguely familiar. Cellphone guy! He wore loose jeans and carried what looked like a metal baton over his shoulder. Next to him was a young man with golden hair, wearing khaki pants and a plain white t-shirt. Despite the freezing temperature, he wasn't shivering at all.

"We've arrested the man who attacked you," the police officer said. "My partner just took him to our car." She held out her hand and smiled sweetly. "I'm Constable Judith Hermes, but you can call me Judy."

Estelle loosely took her hand and shook it in a daze. Judy didn't seem to be too much older than her, with dark eyes and a friendly smile. She was some form of East Asian, though Estelle was in far too much shock to guess exactly what country.

"Yuri," Judy looked over her shoulder, "call an ambulance. She's hurt pretty badly."

"No," Estelle managed to get out and sat up. Her throat hurt, but it was only a bruise. An ambulance would mean a trip to the hospital, and who knew how long the doctors would want to keep her? She hated hospitals, and she was already desperate to get home. "I'm fine," she forced out to prove that she was. Her voice was scratchy, but understandable.

"Ya don't sound fine," said a new voice. Another police officer strolled toward them. This was an older man with brown skin and dark hair. He grinned when he reached them. "Constable Raven Altosk, nice ta meet'cha. You sure you don't wanna go ta the hospital, darlin'?"

"I'm sure."

Raven shrugged. "Well, we can't force the lady."

Estelle turned her eyes on the two men standing back. "Um… who are they?"

Judy smiled and gestured at the dark-haired one. "That's Yuri Lowell, a good friend of mine. He's the one who saved your life."

Yuri nodded. "I heard a scuffle and checked it out. Lucky for you, I happened to be on the phone with Judy at the time. She and Raven hot-footed it over here as soon as I tipped them off."

"And then you beat a man half to death with a music stand." The blond man crossed his arms and stood apart from the others.

Yuri smirked. "Yes, there was that. You say that like it's a bad thing."

"It does seem particularly violent."

"Oh, give me a break. You were going to stab the guy."

"I wasn't going to beat him with a blunt instrument,  _and_  I'm not a civilian!  _I_  was doing my job,  _you_  were playing Catman!"

Yuri smacked his forhead. "For the last time, Flynn, it's  _Bat_ man! You are so out of touch! And no, I'm not trying to be Batman. I saw someone in need and I helped. It's as simple as that." He noticed Estelle watching them in confusion and added, "Sorry. This," he jerked his thumb, "is Flynn. He's an old friend of mine. He helped, too."

"I… see." She really didn't. Yuri was a good Samaritan with an iron pole - that baton in has hand was a collapsed music stand, she realized - but Flynn was apparently not a civilian. "Are you…" she paused to cough and painfully swallow, "a cop?"

Yuri snorted while Flynn smiled soothingly. "Something like that."

"What's your name?" Judy asked, still kneeling on the cold ground beside her.

"Estelle Heurassein."

"And how old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Ok. I'm going to need to talk to you to get a complete statement for my report, but you sound like your voice could use a bit of a rest."

Estelle nodded gratefully.

"Can you meet with me sometime tomorrow? I could pick you up after school."

"I have w-"  _cough_ , "work. Lunch?"

"Sure, I can do that. I see what school you go to from your shirt, so I'll look it up on Google Maps. Here," she held out a cellphone, "can you type in your number? I'll text you tomorrow to confirm."

Estelle nodded and keyed her number into the blank space. The rest of the contact information had already been filled out, and she wasn't sure how she felt about her name being listed as 'Estelle (strangled wit)'.

"Do you live far from here?"

"Couple blocks."

"I'll drive you," Yuri said.

"I can escort you," Flynn immediately offered.

Yuri elbowed him. "You don't have a car, stupid."

Flynn's face fell. "Well…"

Estelle gave him a hesitant look. Supposedly he'd saved her life, but supposedly he was also a weirdo who carried a music stand around and used it to beat people up. After Cumore, the idea of getting in a car with a weird stranger seemed particularly unappealing.

Judy saw her trepidation and said, "I can't give you a ride because your attacker is in the back of the car and there's nowhere else for you to sit. But, I can personally vouch for Yuri." She pulled out her badge. "See this? The city of Zaphias has officially trusted me to protect its citizens, and there is no one I would feel safer leaving you with than Yuri. Come hell or high water, he will get you home safely."

Judy, at least, seemed trustworthy. As weird as Yuri was, it would be better to get a ride home than to spend the rest of her walk jumping at every shadow, and after all, he  _had_  saved her. "Ok," she whispered.

Judy gave her a hand and helped her to her feet. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok?"

Estelle nodded, barely. Anything else hurt her neck.

Judy and Raven walked toward the squad car parked just down the street, and then Yuri said, "I'm parked the other way."

"I'll come with you," Flynn said, falling into step beside them.

Yuri rolled his eyes. "You're not needed. I have this under control."

"I'm going to follow my orders."

"Fine, be that way, but Estelle gets shotgun."

Estelle was more confused about Flynn than almost anything else this evening. Yuri was just a weirdo with a music stand and a hero complex, and Cumore was a homicidal maniac, but she didn't know what to make of Flynn. He didn't seem to be cold even though his arms were exposed and the temperature hovered just below zero, and he spoke about orders and doing his job. He wasn't a cop, but 'something like that'. A special kind of cop? But why wasn't he in a uniform? And just what had been that weird glow she'd seen just before passing out?

Yuri's car was parked just around the corner. There was a pub down the street that he'd probably been heading to when he heard the commotion. The car itself was beige - mostly. There were parts that were grey, and around the wheels it was decidedly rusty brown. He unlocked it manually and then leaned across from the driver's seat to unlock the passenger side door. Estelle reached for the handle herself, but Yuri jumped out and jogged around the car to get the door for her. Estelle set her backpack on the floor and sat on a seat much squishier than it was supposed to be.

Flynn sat in the middle seat behind them, and then the car jolted to life. Yuri kept one hand on the clutch, easily manoeuvring the bucket of bolts down the vacant streets.

"Yuri, you're going too fast," Flynn said from the back.

"I am not, now shut it."

"I just saw a speed limit sign!"

"Going five kilometres over the speed limit isn't going to hurt anyone."

"I can't believe your best friend is a police officer with that kind of attitude."

"And I can't believe you - oh, wait, never mind, I can totally believe you're an obnoxious stick in the mud."

"I am not a stick in the mud."

Yuri leaned over to Estelle and loudly whispered, "That's what all sticks in the mud say."

"Just because I followed my duty and didn't betray everyone, I'm a stick in the mud?"

Yuri's grip on the wheel tightened at the mention of betrayal, but he kept his voice light. "Yeah, pretty much."

Estelle wasn't following any of this. She'd obviously been drawn into an old feud and would rather get home and relax after this terrifying night. "Turn here," she rasped. After going a few minutes without talking, her voice was getting hoarse again. It was only a couple more turns before they pulled up in front of her building.

"Would you like me to walk you to your door?" Flynn offered.

"No, thanks, I got it." She glanced at front of the car for the time, but Yuri's car didn't have a clock. It must be nearing nine at least, and her stomach rumbled. Usually a small dinner during her break was enough to tide her over, but ever since Cumore entered the shop, she'd been ravenous.

"I hope your parents aren't too worried about you coming home so late," Yuri said.

"Oh, um, it'll be fine." She hopped out of the car and hesitated before closing the door. "Thank you very much for helping me."

"It was my pleasure," Yuri grinned.

"I am always happy to assist," Flynn said. "Please take care."

Estelle closed the door, waved, and hurried into her building. After the frightening night, the brightly lit lobby was a comfort. She pressed the button for the elevator and took a deep breath (or, as deep a breath as she could manage through her sore, swollen throat). Everything about Cumore had been so strange. This clearly wasn't an average case of random street crime. He'd scoped her out first, and she was sure now that he'd been checking the security cameras in the shop. If they hadn't been there, would he have assaulted her right there? If he had, Yuri wouldn't have heard her in trouble and he wouldn't have been able to contact Judy and Raven… she shuddered to think what might have happened. Although, how had Flynn known to show up? She thought about the bright flash of light again, and how it had looked like a person silhouetted in front of two huge swaths of golden light. Almost like… wings. That was, of course, ridiculous, and probably a hallucination brought on by her dying brain starving for oxygen.

The elevator binged and the doors slid open. She had almost reached her floor when she suddenly realized her back felt empty. She'd left her backpack in Yuri's car! She groaned in frustration and trudged off the elevator and into her hallway. Her phone had been in there, too, so she couldn't even call him to bring it back. Well, at least she had already arranged to meet with Judy tomorrow. She'd ask her to get it back from Yuri, since they were apparently good friends. On her way to her apartment, Estelle tried not to feel guiltily happy that at least this meant she had an excuse to skip her calculus homework.

Estelle unlocked the door to her apartment and then hung her coat in the front closet. "I'm home, Mom," she said softly as she walked into the living room. The portrait on the sideboard smiled back. She was hungry, but first she sank into the couch. After a few minutes of resting, she realized her hands were still trembling. She grabbed a pillow and squeezed it against her chest as she stretched across the cushions. Things like this weren't supposed to happen to ordinary girls like her. It was like something out of a crime novel, except usually the young woman in those situations turned up as the case to be solved. The fact that she had very nearly been a mystery corpse for the police to find made her chest tighten. If Yuri hadn't been walking just around the corner….

Estelle squeezed the pillow tighter and buried her face in it. Her apartment had never felt so empty.  _I really wish you were here, Mom_.


	2. Here to Stay is a New Bird

The next morning, Estelle's throat felt a lot better. She'd drunk some tea that soothed the inflammation and she could talk without it hurting. Her voice was still raspy and her neck itself was swollen and bruised, but she felt otherwise ok. After eating breakfast, Estelle stood in front of the mirror in her room. Finger-shaped bruises encircled her throat in dark purple lines. It looked ugly, and anyone looking at her would be able to tell what had happened. She couldn't bear to spend the entire day answering questions, so she pulled a rusty red wrap from her draw and tied it around her neck. It was loose enough to not bother her, and when she positioned it right it completely covered the bruises. The scarf wasn't exactly part of her school uniform, but she hoped she could get away with it.

She rode the bus in silence. With her backpack still absent, she felt oddly empty on the commute. All of her homework had been in there, as well as a few textbooks, and most importantly, her wallet. She really hoped Judy could put her in touch with Yuri.

She hopped off the bus and walked a block to the school itself. She passed the line of cars of parents dropping their kids off and headed up the steps and into the building. It was hard not to feel a flicker of envy at the sight of all those parents. Her mom used to drop her off and pick her up, too, but now she rode the city bus to and from school.

Inside, Christmas bombarded her. On a table in the main entrance was a small wooden manger with ceramic figures, and shiny red and yellow garlands were strung along the walls. Boxes wrapped in colourful paper asked for toy and clothing donations and the tree in the corner was covered in school-themed ornaments. Somehow, she had forgotten how festive her school got every December. In years past, she recalled enjoying the decorations and excitedly participating in all the Christmas-themed arts and crafts in class, but she just wasn't feeling it this year.

Estelle walked down the hall toward her first class. She wove through the throngs of students, trying not to be noticed. The last thing she wanted was a conversation about why her voice was so hoarse today. She arrived in class early, but without her backpack she had nothing to set up. Hopefully Ms. Kaufman wouldn't be too upset with her. The rest of the class gradually filed in, and after the bell rang the last half streamed in en mass. Estelle didn't have any friends in AP Economics, so she kept her head down and tried to ignore the joyful chattering around her. Some of them were discussing their Christmas break plans, while some guys in the corner loudly argued about hockey standings and a group of girls behind her debated whether one of them should or should not go on a date with a boy.

When Ms. Kaufman arrived, the class fell silent. All around her, students had pulled out textbooks, binders, and pens, but all Estelle had was a pencil she'd shoved in her coat pocket from home.

"Good morning, everyone." Ms. Kaufman picked up a clipboard with the attendance list and quickly glanced around the class as she went through it. As she made a check, she said, "Estelle, please take off your scarf in the classroom."

Every eye in the class turned on her and Estelle sank into her chair. "Um… I'm sorry, but would it be ok to keep wearing it just for today?"

Kaufman's eyes snapped to her. "It's class policy to remove any outside garments. You can leave it with your jacket by the door."

"It isn't distracting anyone, though."

From behind her, Estelle heard a girl loudly whisper, "Bet she has a hickey."

There was a chorus of giggles and she shrank into the chair even more as her cheeks burned.

"Is there a reason you feel you should be exempt from the policy?"

Estelle hated making a fuss. Kaufman was already so kind to her, and had stood up for her when the school threw a fit after she dyed her hair pink. She didn't want Kaufman to think she thought this meant she could get away with anything. "Um, Ms. Kaufman, can I talk to you in the hall?"

Kaufman hesitated for a moment and met her eyes. Seeing the desperation, she nodded. "All right…. The rest of you, open your books to page 207 and read the first section."

Estelle slunk out of the classroom after Kaufman. The hall outside was empty and they stood next to the door to talk. "Now, Estelle, what's this about? Is everything all right? Are you getting sick?"

"No, it's not that." Estelle hugged herself as she spoke. "Last night, when I was walking home, there was this… this weird guy. He attacked me." She lifted her hands to her scarf and pulled it down enough to reveal the bruises.

Kaufman gasped and her face narrowed in concern. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine, really. The police caught him."

"Do you need to see the nurse?"

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine. It's sore, but it's ok."

"What about the school counsellor? I know this has been a difficult year for you, and I hate to think what additional problems this has caused you."

"I'm fine, really. But, I did lose my backpack. I'm sorry, I don't have today's homework."

Kaufman shook her head tersely. "Don't worry about it. The important thing is that you weren't more seriously hurt. I'll write you a note if any other teacher asks you to take the scarf off."

"Thank you."

Back in class, Kaufman gave her paper and a folder and instructed the girl next to her to scoot over so they could share the book. She could feel the eyes of the girls behind her boring into the back of her head, but ignored them. This class was challenging enough without worrying about drama.

When the bell rang, Estelle put her paper away in the folder and headed for the door.

"Hey, Estelle," Droite followed her on her way out. Estelle did her best to ignore her. "So, what did you say to Kaufman to not get in trouble?"

Estelle kept her eyes ahead and continued walking.

"Arf, arf! You're such a dutiful little teacher's pet."

Thankfully, Droite's next class was on the other side of the school, so she couldn't follow Estelle around the corner. Estelle rubbed her eyes as soon as she was alone and stopped to press her forehead against a cold metal locker. Lately, a well of tears constantly lurked just behind her eyes, and it seemed like any little thing could set her off. She wasn't getting special treatment because she was a suck-up, it was because she had… extenuating circumstances. Some students gave her a dirty look when she left school at 3 instead of sticking around for one of the usually mandatory co-curricular activities, but it wasn't like she was going home to goof off. She had a  _job_. The school let her skip an after school club because she had a job instead and they recognized that she needed the hours and it was just as character building as a chess club.

She got through her next class without much difficulty. Her teacher tried to give her flack about the scarf, but the note from Kaufman explaining that there were, once again, 'extenuation circumstances' calmed her down. When class finally let out, she rushed across the school to the stairwell near the library. Waiting for her was the one person she wanted to see more than any other.

"Oof!" Rita said when Estelle embraced her. "Good morning, Estelle."

"It's so good to see you, Rita."

"Yeah, ok." Rita pried her arms away from her neck. "I saw you just yesterday. What's with you?"

"Wait until you hear what happened." She fell to the step and leaned against the well. Rita sat across from her and listened intently.

Estelle had been vaguely aware of Rita's existence for most of her life. They went to the same church and had been at the same school since primary grades. It was only in the past couple of years that they properly met, though, because Rita was two grades below. In grade eight, they'd started sending her to the upper school for math and science classes, and she'd been in Estelle's classes ever since.

When Estelle finished her story, Rita stared at her with wide eyes. "Oh my god, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, sort of."

"Estelle, that's crazy! Who the hell does that guy think he is?"

"I don't know. He was really strange."

Rita shuddered. "Do you think he's been watching you for a while now? How else would he know your route home?"

"Don't say that!" Estelle held herself tight. "I don't even want to think about that."

Rita folded her arms and said, "I bet he was some kind of serial killer."

"Rita!"

"Ah, sorry, I - I didn't mean to scare you. But that sounds like the M.O. of a serial killer, scoping his victim out in advance and stuff. If he was just some homicidal wacko he wouldn't have stopped to consider security cameras and he wouldn't have watched you in advance to figure out what way you walk home."

It made a sickening sort of sense and the stairwell felt a lot colder. "Well… maybe. But I'm sure we would have heard if there was a serial strangler in town."

Rita shrugged. "Maybe you would have been his first victim. That's a good thought, isn't it? You helped stop a serial killer before he could hurt anyone else."

Estelle frowned and puffed her cheeks. "I don't really think I helped. I mostly just cried."

"You managed to alert help, though, so I think you should get some credit."

The bell sounded and they climbed to their feet to head to AP Calculus. "I still haven't figured out that homework," Estelle lamented on the way through the hall. They passed a bulletin board covered in announcements, including a message from the choir director advising rehearsal times for the Christmas concert, a note from the administration reminding them that the last day of school was December 19th, and an announcement in bold black letters stapled in the middle and attributed to Isaiah 9:6 proclaimed that unto them a child was born.

"I can come over tonight to help, if you want," Rita offered. "It's not actually that hard once you understand the core concept."

Understanding the core concept was Estelle's main problem. "That would be really helpful. Can you come over tonight around 6:30? I don't have work today."

"Sure. You'll need to borrow my textbook anyway."

Rita often ended up coaching Estelle through math homework. They'd become friends in the first place because they sat next to each other in Algebra two years ago and Estelle found herself constantly asking for help with worksheets. As far as she was concerned, it evened out because Estelle proof-read all Rita's essays, which usually needed a  _lot_  of proof-reading.

When class got out, Estelle still didn't understand what she was supposed to do but the promise of Rita coming over to help her figure out the homework reassured her. The same situation reoccurred in Chemistry, which was equally baffling, and then she was finally free to leave for lunch. She waved goodbye to Rita and set out for the front of the school. Usually they ate lunch together, but today she had to meet Judy. Hopefully, Judy hadn't texted her to re-arrange their meeting because she still hadn't gotten her phone back from Yuri.

When she left the building, she didn't immediately see Judy. She didn't see a police car, either. Then she spotted someone waving and hurried forward to Judy sitting on the side of a planter. She wasn't in uniform today, and with her simple jeans, bomber jacket and indigo hair streaked with purple, she could have passed for a student. Not a student here, of course, since Estelle couldn't imagine her in a pleated skirt and knee-high socks.

"Good afternoon," Judy said. "You didn't text me back about what time your lunch started, so I got here a little early."

Estelle winced. "I'm really sorry. I left my phone in my backpack, and my backpack in Yuri's car. Can you get a hold of him to get it back?"

"Uh-oh. Don't worry about it, I'm sure he put it aside and is wondering how to get a hold of you to give it back. I'll text him later. So, how much time do we have?"

"An hour. I have to be back for History by 1:45."

"We won't go too far, then. I thought we could sit down in a coffee shop and discuss this. Are you ok with riding a motorcycle?"

Estelle noticed the helmet sitting on the planter next to Judith and the motorcycle parked not too far away. "Well, I never have before, but it should be ok."

"Good. I figured if your classmates saw you drive away in a police car, the rumours would be merciless. I don't have any other car, so this will have to do."

Estelle followed her to the bike and Judy tossed her a spare helmet. "Just hold on." She tilted her head with a smile and then put her own helmet on. "I promise not to go too fast."

The motorcycle zipped through traffic. The streets were crowded with people trying to take their lunch breaks, so the motorcycle was both less conspicuous and faster. Estelle had always thought they would be scary, but rushing through the chilly December air on the back of one was thrilling.

Judy parked on the side of the road down a smaller street and then led Estelle inside. "What would you like for lunch? My treat."

"Oh, no, that's ok." She didn't have any money on her because her wallet was still with Yuri, but she wasn't very hungry and didn't want to force Judy to pay for her.

"If you don't pick, I'll just buy something and hope you like it."

"Um… any sandwich is fine."

"Sounds good. Take a seat and I'll be over in a minute."

Estelle sat in an armchair by the window. "Frosty the Snowman" played over the radio and the chalkboard menu above the counter was covered in drawings of reindeer and stockings. Estelle rested her cheek on her fist and watcher pedestrians outside. It was a cold, windy day and she saw black winter coats up and down the streets. Why were black coats so popular? It would be nicer if people wore colourful jackets, but instead the stores only stocked black. It was like the entire city was preparing for a funeral every winter.

A few minutes later, Judy came to the table with a tray. "Hope you like hot chocolate."

"Thank you very much."

The round wooden table wobbled as Judy set the tray down, but nothing spilled. Estelle's sandwich had chicken, lettuce, and tomato, which she happily ate. Swallowing was more difficult than usual, but it wasn't too bad.

"So, how do you feel?" Judy asked between bites of a chicken and lettuce wrap. "Is your neck ok?"

"It's fine. Sore, but that's it." She didn't mention the trouble swallowing was causing her.

"That's good. And you got home all right last night, right?"

She nodded stiffly. "Yes. Yuri was very nice."

"I told you he was trustworthy."

"If you don't mind, how do you know him? He doesn't really seem like someone who would hang out with the police."

Judy nodded. "Yes, I can see that. Actually, we first started hanging out because I arrested him."

She lowered her hot chocolate with wide eyes. "Really? What did he do?" It couldn't have been anything dangerous, right? Judy did say he was trustworthy.

"Driving without a license, speeding, and driving without insurance. I was going to just give him a hefty fine, but he didn't give me any ID or proof of registration. I thought he might have stolen the car."

Estelle leaned forward, hands clasped around the warm mug. "But he didn't, right? Yuri's not a criminal."

"No, he's not. It turned out all of that was due to… extenuating circumstances."

Estelle took a sip of hot chocolate. She certainly knew what that was like. "What sort of circumstances?"

Judy put on a secretive smile. "You'll have to ask him yourself. While the things he does aren't exactly legal all the time, he's genuinely a good guy and I let a lot of things slide with him."

The need to find out what kind of 'extenuating circumstances' could lead a police officer to let crimes slide consumed her, but Judy was right. If it was a personal matter, she should ask him directly. She wouldn't want someone blabbing about her own circumstances behind her back. "Can you at least tell me how you started trusting him? You were going to arrest him, but then what happened?"

"Oh, that's easy. It's something you and I have in common, actually - he saved my life."

"Really? How?"

Judy nodded and then swallowed the last of her wrap. "It happened when I was younger. On our way back to the station, he remembered me and re-introduced himself. I figured I owed him a favour, so I let him off and got some coffee instead. We ended up becoming good friends. I'll give you the full story some other time. For now we need to talk about yours." She pulled a notepad out of her bag.

Estelle's face fell and she remembered why she was here. She'd much rather hear the story of how Yuri saved Judy's life and won her trust than retread the traumatic events of last night.

"I know it might be hard to talk about, but I'm going to need you to tell me exactly what happened, as clearly as you remember it. Can you do that?"

Estelle nodded and launched into her story. She began with Cumore showing up in the shop and the creepy questioning, and kept going until she reached the part where she passed out. When she'd told the story to Rita this morning, she skimmed over the actual attack. Judy wanted a full report, though, so she mentioned the emotions she'd seen on Cumore's face. It was important, she felt, that it had not seemed like a crime of passion. This had been  _planned_  and he had gone about it like a job to be completed rather than something for pleasure.

"Interesting," Judy said when she had finished. "I'm glad you told us his name. He wouldn't give it to us."

Estelle stared into her hot chocolate. "It was probably a pseudonym."

"Probably, but maybe he's used it before. We haven't been able to get any information about him at all."

Estelle raised her eyes. "Nothing?"

Judy shook her head. "Not a thing. His fingerprints aren't in the system, he won't give us a name, and I passed his picture around to the other stations and no one has ever seen him before. I tried checking the car, but it's unregistered. I thought it might be stolen, but there are no reports from anywhere around of a car of that make and model going missing. It looks shiny and new so I figured maybe a car dealer around her remembers selling it, but I spent all morning making cars and no one has heard of it. It's like this car just materialized out of thin air and Cumore with it."

"Huh…" Whoever this Cumore guy was, he obviously was no ordinary criminal. To have hidden his identity so completely, he must be a professional. That just raised the question of  _why_  a professional assassin or whatever he was had any interest in her. The only thing she could think of was that it was about money, but even that didn't make sense. She wouldn't have full access to her funds until she turned eighteen, and if she died, the entire fortune would go to charity as the trust fund had already arranged.

"Now that we got a name, I'll see if I can find anything this afternoon. Can you think of any reason someone would want you dead?"

She shook her head. "No. I haven't been involved with anything of the sort. I always figured that if I would be a victim of anything, it would be kidnapping. My family has a lot of money, so they might want ransom."

Judy jotted something don. "And he clearly wasn't attempting to abduct you, correct?"

She nodded. "He didn't try to get me into the car or anything. He just strangled me."

"You said your parents are wealthy. Have they made any enemies, perhaps?"

"I don't think so." Her eyes turned back to a whirl on the table. "My parents are both dead."

Judy paused and glanced up. "Oh. I'm sorry."

"Thank you. Even then, I can't think of any enemies they might have had. Most of our money is… well, it's old money. We've always been wealthy, and over generations it just kept getting passed down and building up interest on stocks and stuff. My mom most spent it on charities."

"What about your father?"

"He was a doctor. He was wealthy in his own right before he married my mom, but he died when I was still a baby. I can't think of anyone who would be so mad at him they'd try to kill me seventeen years later."

"That does sound odd. We don't have any other leads on this case, though, so anything helps."

"But the important thing is that you've already caught him, right?"

Judy nodded. "That's right. We caught him red-handed so I don't think there will be any problem getting him convicted." She reached across and gently rested her hand on Estelle's wrist. "He's going to prison for what he did to you. You don't have to worry about him again."

Estelle forced a smile. "That's good to hear."

"I'll keep you updated on what we find. If he doesn't take a plea bargain, we'll need you to testify in court. Is that ok?"

She nodded. "Yes, I can do that."

"Good." Judy pulled out a slip of paper and a pen. "Here," she passed a phone number to her. "That's my number. If you think of anything else that might be relevant to the case, give me a call. You can also call me for any other reason if you want."

"Thank you." She slipped the number into her bag.

"Are you done?" Judy nodded at Estelle's mug.

There was only a little left, so she quickly downed it. "Yes. Thank you very much for lunch."

"It was my pleasure. Thank you for talking to me. Now, let's get you back to school."

* * *

Estelle walked down the stairs, glad to be done with today. It was a relief she didn't have work today. She knew she needed to get back on the horse, but after last night, the idea of spending another evening alone in the bookshop was frightening. She was looking forward to a quiet afternoon at home, where hopefully she could track down Yuri and get her backpack returned.

She paused on the steps when she spotted an old, banged-up car in the loop of driveway where parents picked up and dropped off kids. Since everyone else was at their co-curricular activities and wouldn't be leaving for another hour, it was otherwise empty. Yuri leaned against his car, arms crossed, watching the sky.

"Hello." Estelle approached the car and Yuri looked down.

"Yo," he said with a grin. "Forget something?"

Estelle folded her hands in front of her. "Uh, a little bit, yes."

"Judy gave me the name of your school. Do you want a ride to work?"

"Actually, I don't have work today. I was just going to go home."

"In that case I can drive you home. Or, we could head downtown and wander around for a bit."

"Why?"

"Because downtown Zaphias is a cool place."

"No, I mean, why do you want to go now?"

Yuri shrugged. "Why not? I have nothing else to do today and it's always more fun to hang out with someone else."

She very nearly refused. A strong part of her was ready to go home and curl up in bed feeling miserable, but she'd been doing that a lot lately so maybe it was time for a change. "Well… ok."

Yuri opened the door for her and then walked around to the driver's seat. Her backpack still sat on the floor, precisely where she left it. Glad to have it back, she unzipped it and looked through the contents.

"I'll have you know I didn't steal anything." They pulled away from the school and turned toward downtown.

She paused with her hand over the front pocket where her wallet was. "I trust you." Part of her still wanted to check, but that would look rude. Instead she looked out the window at the grey day. The smudges on the window made it seem more dreary than it really was. "Judy said she arrested you once."

"Heh, figures. She loves that story. She told you she dropped the charges before we even reached the station, right?"

Estelle nodded as the car rattled. "She said she dropped them because you had 'extenuating circumstances', not because you didn't actually do those things."

"I was only speeding a  _little_  bit."

"You didn't really steal this car, did you?"

"Did she imply that? I'm offended."

Estelle gave him a dubious look. "That wasn't an answer."

Yuri shook his head. "No, I didn't steal it. Trust me, if I was gonna steal a car it would be a lot nicer than this one. It's a bit of a story how I got it."

"Oh? What's the story?"

They pulled to a stop behind a row of cars at a red light. "It was a gift, actually. It's a long story, but the gist of it is that on my way to Zaphias, I found myself stranded at a gas station. I ran into this guy, some things happened, and then he handed me the keys and insisted I take his car."

Estelle frowned. "'Things'? What kind of things were they to get a free car?"

"He was a very devout Christian. I think he was trying to do God's work by… helping a stranger in need, you know."

"Still, that's very generous." Estelle knew a lot of Christians through her church and she didn't think any of them would give away their cars to a total stranger. The answer must lie in the 'things' that had happened. It probably had to do with Yuri's 'extenuating circumstances'. Questions burned on her tongue, but he'd clearly been vague on purpose. "Were you coming to Zaphias for a job?"

The light turned green and they were finally able to move again. "Not really. I just thought it was the place to be. Actually, it's lucky I got this car, because when I first got here I was living out of it for a little while."

"Oh, that's horrible. You took you a while to find a job and an apartment, huh?"

Yuri nodded. "Yeah. To be honest, I was a bit naive when I left home for here. It was a bit of a slap in the face, but I eventually found work and I'm settled now."

"Where do you work?"

Yuri pulled into an underground parking garage. "That's a story, too."

"Everything is a story with you, isn't it?"

He gave her a grin as he pulled into a parking space. "What can I say? I lead an interesting life."

After the warmth of the heated car, the underground garage was freezing. Yuri explained the rest of his story on their way to the stairwell. "When I first got to Zaphias I didn't have any money. I was sleeping in my car and scrounging for food. There's a diner downtown that I hung around in the evenings. The alley was fairly clean and deserted and they always had leftovers to toss. Anyway, the owner caught me in the act one night. He said he'd seen me pilfering from their dumpsters for a while and at that point I was getting pissed. I thought, who's this asshole who's mad that I'm stealing something he already threw out?"

"That's right," Estelle said, nodding along. She followed Yuri into the stairwell, where their voices resonated around the cold cement. "It makes no sense to get mad at someone for stealing from a dumpster. What a jerk."

"Hold on, the story gets better. He said it was an insult to his cooking to eat cold, stale leftovers. Then he pulled me inside, handed me a broom, and told me that if I cleaned up well he'd give me a burger for free."

"That's so nice of him."

"Yeah, Hanks is a good guy. I started cleaning the floors and busing the tables in exchange for food, and then one day one of his cooks was out sick and I offered to help in the kitchen. I started working full time for him, sometimes in the kitchen, sometimes cleaning up, whatever he needs. Technically I'm not an official employee, and we have an understanding that I show up when I can, but it's good. He pays me in cash and my place is low-key enough that my landlady is cool with getting the rent in cash, so it works out."

They left the stairs and entered the mall. It was, once again, decked out for Christmas. They walked through the atrium lined with lights and walked past a Christmas tree so covered in twinkling lights she could hardly see the needles. Wire mesh reindeer glowing with lights and tiny blue stars around their antlers stood guard by the escalator. "I feel like this stuff lies in wait all year long and then ambushes the world the day after Halloween."

Estelle giggled. "Pretty much. It's lucky most public places don't actually put any of it up until December… if we're lucky."

"Even though they sell it in September." Yuri hopped off the escalator and stepped aside. "It's funny. There's such a big deal about not putting Christian things up to keep it secular, but all of this stuff is very Christmassy. Just because Jesus' face on it doesn't mean it isn't associated with him, you know?"

"A lot of people celebrate Christmas even if they aren't religious themselves."

They walked down the main drag, past empty benches and tiny trees in large planters. On a Tuesday afternoon, there weren't many people here. "I just think it's weird. It's still celebrating  _Christ_ mas. Removing all the obviously religious things just turns it into… Christianity-Lite or something. It's like it's half-assed. Either celebrate Christmas or don't. People are weird."

She glanced up at him. "Are you religious, Yuri?"

"Me? Nah. Not anymore, anyway. I sort of grew up with it, though, so I'm familiar with how it works. Are you?"

Estelle sighed and watched her feet. Her professional black shoes squeaked on the shiny floors. "I don't know. I used to be. My mom and I went to church every Sunday, but I'm not really sure how I feel anymore."

"Well, I won't tell you what to do. All I'll say is that I used to be sort of religious, but I gave up on that and I haven't been this happy in a long time."

Estelle let out a long sigh. She'd been questioning whether she wanted to start going back to church, but Yuri didn't seem like a neutral advice giver in this respect. "Either way, the decorations are kind of annoying. You can't go anywhere without being smacked over the head with Christmas spirit."

"I wouldn't say I mind it that much. They're pretty, and Christmas is a nice time of year."

"I'm just…" she took a deep breath, which was harder than she'd expected. "I'm just so sick of all this Christmas stuff. Everywhere you go it's Christmas this and Christmas that. There's never any peace! It's on the radio in every store, in every add on TV, and the streets are covered in decorations. I just want some peace from the constant reminders that it's Christmas!" Somehow tears had sprung up in her eyes again and she hastily rubbed them away. She took a few more deep breaths, struggling to get all that air through her sore throat.

Yuri paused, clearly not sure what to say. She hadn't meant to flip out at him, and looked for a distraction. They passed the bookstore so she stopped. "Do you mind going in?"

"Oh, sure."

Estelle had always felt at home in bookstores. She knew that somewhere in those shelves was a story that could become a piece of her heart if only she searched long enough, and she knew that everyone else in there was looking for the same thing. In the back of her mind, Estelle had always believed that no one who liked books - who  _really_  liked stories and got emotionally invested in fictional characters as if they were real people - could ever truly be a bad person. Even if they did terrible things, anyone who could get misty eyed over the suffering of someone fictional at least had that amount of empathy going for them.

Yuri seemed slightly less enthralled with the bookstore. The split up, Estelle wandering toward the fantasy section while Yuri skulked around the aisle of CDs. Christmas music played over the radio and every display advertised what store items would make the best gifts, but she tried to ignore all that. Books had always been her favourite way to lose herself, and just browsing them helped put aside her Christmas-born irritation. In the fantasy section, she strolled down the row of books. Sometimes she spotted one she'd read before, at which point she pulled it off the shelf and flipped through the pages with a smile before slipping it back in the row. It was like sharing a secret look with a friend when you both understood an in-joke.

She was in the middle of reading the back of a book she'd already read when someone tapped her shoulder. When she turned, a plastic Santa mask was in her face and Yuri dropped his voice to a booming, "HO HO HO."

Estelle gasped and jerked backward while Yuri whipped the mask off with a grin. "Careful. He watches you while you're sleeping. I wouldn't trust him."

Over her initial fright, Estelle laughed and put the book away. "Go put that back."

"Are you sure? I was thinking I could use it to scare a friend of mine."

It would certainly work. The mask had dead blue eyes with tiny holes to let you see, and a grin that looked like it had been designed by an alien who only knew about the concept of human smiling from a description. "Do you mean Flynn?"

"Nah, I have another friend I used to babysit. This kind of thing would really freak him out. Flynn is… it's complicated."

"Is he a friend of yours?"

Yuri leaned against the bookshelf and fiddled with the stretchy string around the back of the mask. "We were friends for a long time, but we got into a pretty heated argument a few years ago and parted ways. I don't talk to him anymore."

"I'm sorry. What does he do?"

"To put it simply, he helps people. Hey, come on, I want to show you something."

Yuri had changed the topic pretty quickly, so Estelle followed him across the store with increased confusion. Everything about both Yuri and Flynn was supremely odd. She didn't want to seem nosey, but she was fascinated by who they could be. Yuri didn't look like he was that much older than her, but she got the impression he had lived a lot more. Even his story about moving to Zaphias was beyond anything Estelle had ever experienced. She'd grown up in a nice house with a wonderful mother and gone to the same private school since she was five. She'd never had to worry about money in her life and with such a large inheritance coming, she knew she would never have to. She certainly didn't want to complain, because her life was very comfortable, but it also felt very insular.

Yuri led her to the children's section and knelt in front of a large train set. "Look how cool this is." Glittering white cotton had been placed under the tracks and all the pipe-cleaner trees had been sprayed with something white. Yuri grabbed the train engine and pushed it along the track. "The train is running well today, except - oh no!" He picked up a plastic snowman and set him on the tracks. "Frosty's frozen to the track! He's going to get run over!"

Estelle couldn't help giggling as Yuri reached for a construction worker. "Bill is going to save you, Frosty!" He tottered the figurine over. When 'Bill' reached the tracks, he 'slipped' and fall face forward. "Uh-oh, he slipped and licked the track! Now his tongue is stuck and he's going to get run over, too."

He pushed the train forward, making 'choo-choo' noises. Estelle spotted a fireman standing in front of a plastic firehouse and pulled him over. "Don't worry, John has a bucket of warm water." She tilted him toward Bill, saying, "Pssssh, there that should free his tongue. Now they can work together to save Frosty."

"It's too late!" Yuri pushed Frosty toward Bill and John. "Frosty pushes them aside. 'Save yourselves!'" Then the train smashed into Frosty and Yuri rolled him off the tracks making choking noises. "'Goodbye… friends… I'll be… back… again… some… daaarghhh…"

Estelle glanced over Yuri's shoulder and spotted a mother and child watching them. The child looked intrigued while the mother looked horrified. "Um, Yuri, maybe we should leave."

Yuri glanced over his shoulder and then quickly turned back to the table. "But wait! What's this?" Frosty jumped to his feet. "It's a miracle! The power of Frosty's hat has revived him! A mere train is no match for a snowman." Yuri turned around and held the figurine out to the little boy. "Here, you can play now. Be careful, he's pretty powerful."

"Cool!"

Yuri got to his feet and Estelle ushered him away from the train sets. "I'm getting kind of hungry. Do you want to grab some food?"

"What time is it?"

Yuri pulled out his phone. "Quarter after five."

"I could eat. Hey, is the diner you work at nearby? I'd like to check it out."

"Sure, it's not too far. If we drive it'll be five minutes."

She smiled. "Let's do that, then." Hopefully she wouldn't have trouble eating. Drawing breaths was becoming increasingly difficult and she didn't want to worry Yuri about swallowing. She was pretty sure it was just her neck getting sore and swollen after talking too much, so she'd try to tone it down.

Yuri led the way back through the mall and to the parking garage. By the time she walked down the stairs, Estelle was out of breath. She sucked air through her mouth and rubbed her aching throat.

Yuri held the door open for her and then watched her with concern. "Are you ok?"

"I…" she choked out. "I c-can't…" It was like breathing through a straw. Her chest heaved from the effort and her hands went to her neck as if someone was strangling her again. That was what it felt like and her heart sped up with fear both real and remembered.

"Estelle?" Yuri's hand went to her shoulder. "What's going on? Are you hurt?"

She stared at him with scared eyes and tried to suck in more air. She had none to spare for talking.  _I can't breathe_ , she wanted to say.

Yuri looked around with panic in his eyes. "Are you choking? Did something happen?"

She shook her head and leaned against the wall of the stairwell. It was hard to keep standing when she felt so lightheaded. Panic set in and her hands instinctively clawed at her throat while she gasped for her.

"I'm taking you to the hospital." Yuri tucked one arm under her legs and the other around her back and scooped her up. He didn't seem bothered by her weight at all as he dashed toward his car. Estelle could barely pay attention to what was going on as he seatbelted her into the car and sped off.


	3. Blue Christmas

If Yuri got pulled over for speeding, he would be in a lot of trouble because he still didn't have proof of insurance or registration. He technically had a license, but it was fake and a good cop might be able to tell. He'd probably wind up in jail, but at the very least a cop with a siren could clear the roads and would hopefully take Estelle to the emergency room before locking him up, so it was worth the risk.

"Come on, come on!" He slammed his fist on the horn, but Zaphias drivers heard car horns so often they made up the white noise of driving. Maybe he should have called an ambulance, but at the time his thought had been that an ambulance meant waiting around for them to drive here and then take her to the hospital, while he could take her there straight away.

Estelle was still conscious, but only just. Every snatch of attention was focused on breathing and she let out short, pained gasps with her eyes closed. Yuri didn't know what the problem was, but he'd bet his left foot it was connected to the strangling. Dammit, he knew she should have gone to the hospital last night! Instinctively, his left arm flew over and rested on her throat. Of course nothing happened.

Finally the cars moved and he slammed on the pedal. He recalled the time Judy had pulled him over for speeding and reckless driving a few years ago, but this made that look like he'd been puttering a toy car around a track. More horns blared at him as he cut people off, zipped through yellow lights, and used any lane that wasn't actively filled with a car as a passing lane. It was a stroke of luck he hadn't been pulled over, and his brakes squealed and he pulled up in the U-shaped driveway in front of the emergency department. She was still breathing, but only just. Her lips had started to turn blue and Yuri sprinted around the car.

"Hang on, Estelle," he muttered as he picked her up again. "We're almost there." He dashed to the door, where even the automatic sliding felt too slow. The entire trip here had only taken a little over five minutes, but it felt like hours. Inside, he didn't know where to go. There was a desk, nurses, patients sitting around in varying stages of distress, but no sign saying 'bring dying girls here' and in his panic, he needed something that blunt. "She's not breathing!"

That got attention. A nurse ran forward and a doctor who'd been talking to someone at the desk broke off mid-sentence to run to them. "What triggered this?" she asked.

"I don't know. She got strangled last night but was fine. Then about ten minutes ago she started having trouble breathing. You can fix her, right?"

The wheels of a gurney rattled on the floor as a pair of nurses ran forward. Yuri laid Estelle down, hating how helpless he felt. His hands twitched with the desire to just reach out and heal her, but there was nothing he could do but watch the nurses and doctor rush away with her and trust these strangers would take care of it.

"Excuse me, sir?" said the clerk at the registration desk. "Can I get you to fill out her registration?"

"Yeah…." His mind was still half on Estelle. He turned to the desk and looked down at the form she'd given him. "Uh, to be honest I don't know her that well."

"Are you a friend?"

Yuri tapped the pen on the page and glanced up. "Sort of. I met her last night after she got attacked and we were hanging out this afternoon."

"Do you know the contact information for a family member?"

Yuri shook his head. "Sorry. I can try to answer these as well as I can, though." Yuri took the form, but before sitting down to fill it out, he went outside to park his car. Before going back in, he spotted her backpack on the floor and leaned over to find her wallet. Digging around in it felt rude, but the doctors needed as much information as they could. In the front pouch, he pulled out her wallet and cell phone and then went back inside. He sat next to a kid with a runny nose and examined the clipboard.

Patient name? He knew that at least. He wrote 'Estelle' and then realized he didn't know her last name. He recalled it being long and starting with an H, but that was it. At least he had her wallet, so he looked inside and found her driver's license.  _Estellise Heurassein_. Dammit, he'd gotten her first name wrong, too. He sighed and tried to fill it out as best he could. At least he'd found her health card in her wallet.

It seemed to take an awfully long time for anyone to tell him if Estelle was going to be ok or not. He filled out the registration as well as he could, but left a lot of blanks. He'd even gone through her contacts on her cell phone, but nobody listed had the same last name and he had no idea which names were close friends or relatives and which were classmates added during a single group project. He thought he'd hit the jackpot when he found 'Mom', but when he called it, a voice told him it had been disconnected. He'd known her for less than twenty-four hours, but it looked like he was her emergency contact for tonight. At one point, a nurse came by to ask him to explain exactly what had happened and he gave as many details as he could.

Finally, a nurse called him over. He scanned her face to determine if she was about to deliver bad news, and felt relieved when he didn't see any signs. That, or she was a sociopath.

"How is she?"

"She's stable," the nurse said.

The words, "Thank God," slipped out before he could stop himself. "Where is she now?"

"She's resting. We're going to transfer her to a room in the hospital. We'd like her to stay for twenty-four hours for observation."

"What exactly happened?"

"The bruising from the strangling attack last night caused swelling in her throat. It's been gradually getting worse all day, and only just cut off her airway. She should have come in last night immediately after the attack."

Yuri smashed his fist into his other hand. "I knew it! I told her she should have. So, is there anything else you need from me?"

"Not unless you remembered any other information. We're transferring her to the main hospital now, so you can visit her there if you'd like to see her. Just ask at the front desk for her room number. Before that, she gave us this for you."

Yuri took a slip of paper and a ring of keys. His eyes darted quickly over the note.

_Yuri,_

_I'm sure you saved my life getting me here. The doctors say I have to stay until tomorrow night. Could you please go to my apartment and get my iPad and the book on my bedside table? My apartment number is 2201. Thank you so much,_

_Estelle_

Yuri slipped the note and keys into his pocket. "Thanks a lot."

He made the drive to her apartment much slower than the drive here. He may not have known Estelle for very long, but she seemed like a sweet kid and he was glad she was all right. He parked outside the apartment building and then tried several keys before he found the one to let him in.

Yuri paused when he entered the lobby. He'd been in a lot of apartment buildings over the years, and he thought he knew what lobbies generally looked like. They hard stained carpets, white walls, dented elevator doors and always smelled slightly of weed. This looked more like a five-star hotel than a typical apartment building. Light from the chandeliers gleamed on the polished checkerboard floor and display shelves were decorated with the kind of funky vases no one could logically put flowers in. Across the room, he saw glass doors leading to a pool surrounded by trees and white lounge chairs, and a sign with directions for an exercise room, a steam room, a party room, and a yoga room.

 _Rich people_. The fancy-pants private school made more sense now. It took half a minute of looking around before he even spotted the elevator bay.

On his way across the lobby, a man in a suit approached him. "Excuse me."

Yuri stopped with a sigh. He knew that tone of voice and already knew exactly where this conversation was going to go. It had most likely been prompted by some combination of the soles sticking to his shoes with spit and prayer, the rips and fading on his jeans that had gotten that way through wear not fashion, the band logo on his black t-shirt, and the leather jacket that looked like it had been through a war zone rather than a fashion show. He swivelled on the slick floors and gave the man an innocent smile. "Yes?"

"Can I help you?"

"No, I'm fine. Thanks for asking."

"Sir, this is private property. Only residents and their guests are allowed past the front door for security reasons. We care deeply about the safety of our residents."

"Ah-ha, then it's lucky for me I'm one of those." He reached into his pocket and tried to ignore the way the man flinched.  _Hell, it's not like I'm reaching for a knife._ The keys jingled as he waved them in the guy's face.

"Where did you get those?"

The implication that he'd stolen them pissed him off. "My friend gave them to me. Her name's Estelle Heurassein and she's in the hospital. She asked me to get some things from her apartment, ok?"

The man frowned, but seemed to find this acceptable. "Hm… very well. But as a reminder, our facilities are for residents only and you will need to leave as soon as you fetch the items."

"Fine. I don't want to stick around in your pretentious building anyway." The man, who was shorter than Yuri, somehow managed to look down his nose at him and walked away.

Yuri was still fuming when he reached the elevator and slammed his hand against the button. He wasn't mad for getting stopped, because he had nothing to be ashamed of about his appearance and he took it as a badge of pride that he obviously didn't belong in a swanky place like this. It was the obnoxious hypocrisy of the man claiming he 'cared deeply about the safety of our residents' and then didn't even bat an eye when he said Estelle was in the hospital. He hadn't made a single motion to indicate he cared one way or another about Estelle, or even ask whether or not it was serious. They didn't care about their residents, they cared about being able to promote themselves as a 'nice' place where those filthy poor people didn't get in the way. If they  _actually_  cared about anything but their bottom line, they'd look at a clearly impoverished person wandering in and offer them a hot meal and a place to rest rather than kicking them out to go be poor on someone else's property. If the amount you cared for someone varied with the number of digits in their bank account, you didn't actually care.

Yuri stepped into the elevator and glared at the polished wooden walls. This place bled excess. Yuri could take care of himself, but he knew a lot of people in similar circumstances who struggled a lot more than he did. The people who lived here and ran this place could share so little of what they had they wouldn't even notice the loss, but it could help so many people. They could be helping people, but instead they holed up in their wealthy sanctuaries and pretended the rest of the world didn't exist. Nothing pissed Yuri off more than people who had every ability to help those less fortunate and chose not to. It was bullshit like that which led him to leave home in the first place.

The elevator dinged and he stepped off onto the twenty-second floor. Estelle's apartment wasn't hard to find, but he knocked first in case her parents were home. When nobody answered, he unlocked the door and stepped inside. After her outburst this afternoon, he wasn't surprised to fine it devoid of any Christmas decorations. He strolled across the parquet floor and took in the sparse accommodation. After the finery of the lobby, he'd almost expected a palace inside as well, but Estelle's furnishing was simple. The couch looked like it had been chosen for how comfy it was rather than style, and when he looked closely at the floor to ceiling windows around the glass door to the balcony, he realized she hadn't bothered to install an actual curtain rod and instead stuck a shower curtain in the window frame.

Yuri scanned the room for her iPad. He didn't see it in the living room, but his eyes did land on a picture frame on the sideboard near the couch. Next to it was a tiny frame that held a newspaper clipping rather than a photo. Curious, Yuri got closer to see what sort of article was important enough to frame. When he picked it up, his heart dropped.

_HEURASSEIN, Elizabeth - it is with overwhelming sadness the family announces the passing of Elizabeth on December 18th, 2013 at the age of 46. Elizabeth joins her beloved husband, Robert Heurassein, who passed away on August 12th, 1997. A devoted mother to Estelle Heurassein…_

Yuri lowered the frame slowly. Oh. That explained a lot.

There was only one bedroom in the apartment. Yuri also only had one bedroom, but he found this very sad. Yuri was a lot older than Estelle and came to Zaphias to live alone by his choice. Estelle was still in high school - she shouldn't be on her own.

He spotted her iPad on the nightstand by her bed, with a bookmarked novel sitting on top of it. Yuri picked these things up, and then glanced at the pale pink plaid bedspread. He pulled it off the bed and wrapped it around the items. Maybe having a blanket from home would make her less miserable in the hospital.

Yuri was just about to leave when he heard movement behind him. Battle instincts made his body move before consciously thinking about it. He twisted to the side and then grabbed the outstretched arm of the girl who'd tried to whack him over the head. She yelped as he twisted it behind her back and she dropped the pepper grinder in her hand.

"Let go of me!" the short girl snarled. Her heel smashed into his shin and made him wince, but Yuri was much stronger and held her still.

"Calm down. I'm not gonna hurt you. What are you doing in Estelle's apartment?"

"I could ask the same of you! You're stealing her iPad, you thief!"

"Whoa, hold on, Estelle asked me to get this stuff for her. She gave me her keys."

The girl slammed her free arm back and her elbow sank into his stomach. Yuri choked and the moment of weakness gave her an opening to wriggle away. She snatched the pepper grinder from the floor and backed away, wielding it like a weapon.

Yuri raised an eyebrow. "What are you gonna do, season me?"

"This thing is heavy, you know!"

It was about a foot long and made of wood, so perhaps it would work as an efficient club, but tiny teenager full of rage and pepper didn't top Yuri's list of intimidating enemies. Yuri pulled Estelle's note from his pocket. "Look. Estelle sent me."

The girl glanced at him suspiciously and then read the note. When she finished she lowered her grinder and her face turned from anger to concern. "What?! She's in the hospital? What happened? Who are you?"

"Slow down. My name's Yuri. I met Estelle last night after she was attacked."

"Oh, yeah, she mentioned you. My name's Rita. Estelle asked me to come over tonight and help with her math homework. So why is she in the hospital?"

"Side effect of the strangling. Don't worry, the emergency room took care of it and and they're just keeping her for observation, just in case. She asked me to bring her some things so she won't be bored tomorrow."

"Are you going back to the hospital right now?"

He nodded. "I was gonna."

"Take me with you. I want to see her."

"Are your parents ok with that?" She waved her hand and walked to the door. "Don't worry about that. I took a bus to get here and they're not expecting me home until later.

"All right, then."

Yuri followed Rita out of the apartment. She locked it behind them with a key Estelle had evidently given her. Rita, who wore a bulky burgundy sweatshirt and the most default cut of jeans Yuri had ever seen, could have passed for a twelve year old. Yuri snidely wondered if the security guy had stopped  _her_  in the lobby, but apparently her sweatshirt had the right brand name on the chest to slip through.

"Do you live nearby?" Yuri asked on the elevator ride down.

"Our house is a few blocks away."

A house in downtown Zaphias? No wonder she and Estelle went to the same swanky school.

On the way out, Yuri noticed Mr. Suit giving him a dirty look. Yuri gave a little wave as he walked outside. "This is my car."

She eyed the jalopy and crossed her arms before getting in. "This thing still runs?"

Yuri ran his hand along the roof "Hey, she may not be the prettiest girl on the floor but she can dance like nobody's business."

"If you say so."

The car heaved to life and they were off. Yuri had been through a lot with this car, and even if he could afford a new one, he'd stick with his baby until the wheels fell off. They were practically family.

At a red light, Rita leaned on the door and rested her face in her hand. Her brow creased with worry, and Yuri assumed it was worry for Estelle rather than her own safety in this not-entirely-stable car. "How long have you known Estelle?" Yuri asked.

Rita glanced his way. "A couple years. Why?"

"Just wondering. How long has she lived alone?"

Rita frowned. "About a year. Her mom died last December."

Yuri watched the road when they were able to move again. "Isn't she still seventeen? Shouldn't he have a guardian?"

"Yeah, but after her mom called off the treatment 'cause they knew she wasn't going to make it, Estelle went through a bunch of paperwork to emancipate herself. She didn't want to get sent off to some foster family for her last year of high school."

"Ah, that makes sense. She must be pretty mature to live alone at her age."

"Yeah, Estelle is really responsible. She doesn't have to worry about money because she gets a monthly allowance from the trust fund her mom left her, but she didn't want to live on handouts and wanted to earn her own spending money, so she got a job and only uses the trust money for things like rent and groceries." Rita smiled as she spoke and her words were saturated with pride.

Yuri parked at the hospital, got Estelle's room number at the desk, and headed up. When they reached her room, Rita ran in first. "Estelle! Are you ok? Argh, of course you're not."

Estelle was awake and did her best to smile at Rita with a tube coming out of her mouth. It was held in place with tape and an IV came out of her left arm, but her lips were pink again and her eyes were alert.

"I brought your stuff." Yuri set the book and tablet on the table by the bed. "And I thought you might like this." He spread the blanket over her bed.

Estelle reached for her iPad and typed something quickly. Then she turned it around to show,  _Thank you so much_.

"It was no problem, although Rita here tried to season me to death with a pepper grinder."

Estelle looked to Rita in confusion while Rita huffed and crossed her arms. "I was going to use it as a club! I came to your apartment to help with calculus and I heard someone in your bedroom. I checked and I saw a strange guy so I grabbed the nearest heavy thing from the kitchen counter."

Estelle tapped another message.  _:) thanks for trying to defend my home, Rita._

"How do you feel?" Yuri asked.

 _Much better. Other than my throat I feel just fine_.

"That's good to hear."

Yuri and Rita hung out in the hospital until a nurse asked them to leave. Estelle didn't talk much, but Yuri found a deck of cards in the visitor's lounge and they played Go Fish on her bed. Yuri and Rita got in more than a few arguments about which of them was cheating, but none so serious that after saying goodbye to Estelle he didn't offer to drive her home.

"What are we even listening to?" she asked as he drove toward her neighbourhood.

Yuri took his eyes off the road to give her a look. Did she actually  _not_  recognize this? "Bohemian Rhapsody."

"Yeah, but you purposefully put the tape in."

"So?"

"So, people don't go out of their way to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody. Bohemian Rhapsody just happens. Besides, why are we listening to it on a  _cassette tape_  in 2014?"

Yuri tapped the dashboard (gently, just in case). "In case you haven't noticed, she doesn't have a CD player."

"Just how old is this hunk of junk?"

"How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Then you need to shut your mouth and respect your elders."

By the time Rita pointed out her house and Yuri stopped the car, they had moved on to "Fat Bottomed Girls". Rita hopped out of the car but before slamming it shut she said, "Hey, thanks a lot, Yuri. You really pulled through for Estelle today. You're not a bad guy. Sorry I tried to beat you over the head with a pepper grinder."

"That's ok, I don't think you could reach my head anyway."

Rita slammed the door and the whole car rocked.

* * *

One year ago to the day, Estelle had also been in the hospital. Not as a patient that time, but a visitor. She had a lot of experience being a visitor at the hospital. At first at had been day trips to various clinics, and then Mom needed to start staying overnight for various treatments and surgeries. As the months droned on, the stays became longer and more frequent. At the beginning of December, the rest of the city began singing about the hap-happiest season of all when Estelle realized that this time, Mom wasn't going to be coming home from the hospital.

It was a cold day. The leaves outside the window had already left the trees gnarled and dead, but no snow had fallen yet to beautify them in its own way. The room, at least, was nice. The walls were a pale tan and the shelves were made of polished wood. A TV hung from the ceiling, playing  _Meet Me in St. Louis_.

The bed hadn't been made for two, but her mom scooted as far over as she could and made room. Estelle didn't mind squeezing close, because part of her wanted to hold on tight and never let go so she'd never leave. The only downside of being so close to Mom was that she could feel just how frail she had become. It was odd to connect those pale, stick-like arms to the ones that used to pick her up or push her on a swing. "How come there aren't any footprints in the snow?" Estelle asked. "How could they have made those snowmen without leaving any trace on the snow?"

"Shush," Mom said. "I'm trying to watch."

"Mom, you've seen this movie a hundred times. You watch it every year."

"And now I'm watching it for a hundred and first time, so shush."

"Spoiler: they decide not to move to New York after all and they all live happily ever after in St. Louis. It's very sweet."

Mom weakly elbowed her in the ribs. "Why would you ruin the ending for me? Maybe it will be different this time."

"Heh-heh, sure, Mom."

The movie continued. She rolled on her side and pressed her face against Mom's shoulders. Mom wrapped her arm around her shoulders and gently rubbed them, making Estelle feel guilty. She wanted to be strong for Mom, because she was in a lot of pain and the last thing she needed was to worry about Estelle, too. She was practically an adult and didn't want Mom worrying about her being on her own from now on. Even though she was sixteen, being in the hospital made her feel like she was six again.

They held each other in silence for a while, until Estelle's stomach grumbled. Mom stroked her hair and pulled away. "You should head home and get some dinner."

"It's ok, I can stay later. I'll just grab a muffin from the coffee shop."

She slipped out of bed and made her way to the coffee shop on the first floor. The young man who took her money didn't comment on the red rims to her eyes, but considering where his job was located, he probably saw that a lot. Estelle walked back to the room, trying not to feel like the snowflakes and happy children depicted on the side of her paper cup were mocking her. Everyone in all the Christmas decorations were so happy, which only made her feel more miserable in comparison.

When she returned to her room, Mom was asleep. She slept a lot these days. Every time she fell asleep, Estelle tried not to wonder if this would be the time she didn't wake up again. She didn't want to wake her, so Estelle sat on the couch near the door, which wasn't very soft and a few buttons hung from strings. On screen, Judy Garland pacified her little sister by singing "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." That was Mom's favourite part, but it looked like she was going to sleep through it. Estelle swallowed a lump in her throat as she hoped the movie was on TV again soon so Mom could watch it one last time.

Estelle set her coffee on the floor and her muffin on the couch cushion beside her and folded her hands in her laps. She took a deep breath squeezed her eyes, forcing out tears.

_God… I know I've prayed a lot lately and I know you haven't intervened yet, but I really need you to. The doctors can't do anything else. We're just waiting for her to die now, but I know that you are so much more powerful than them. You've healed lepers, blindness, even risen the dead… I know you can cure cancer. Please, we really need a miracle right now. It's the only thing I want for Christmas. Please, God… please…._

* * *

This time around, Estelle didn't bother praying. It hadn't worked last time, so why try now? If God hadn't been willing to save her mother, why would He bother saving her?

Not that she needed saving. The doctor said her condition was stable, and as long as nothing clogged the tube she just had to wait for the swelling to go down. For now, there was nothing to do but wait. It was hard to fall asleep with the bulky plastic tube in her throat, though. The IV in her arm irritated her wrist and the room smelled like antiseptic. Even worse, she couldn't stop thinking about the last time she'd laid on a hospital bed, and who she'd been lying next to.

She was going to miss school tomorrow. Her teachers wouldn't mind, because being admitted to the critical care unit overnight was a very legitimate reason for missing class. But the other students, the ones like Droite…. She'd missed a lot of school last year around this time, too. Since she didn't like talking about what was going on, a lot of classmates thought she was skipping class and the teachers let her get away with it because she was a teacher's pet. It wasn't her fault that her mom needed someone to drive her to chemotherapy appointments and sometimes she could only schedule them for while Estelle was in class. A lot of kids had given her envious looks when she started her Christmas break a week early, and she wondered how many of them knew it was because her mom knew the end was coming and she wanted to spend as much time together as physically possible. Her school had a policy about absences, and if you had so many absences a year you would be expelled. Estelle had gone over that limit before her mom even entered the palliative stage of care, but Estelle had been a student since she was five and the entire staff knew her circumstances, so they let it slide. Extenuating circumstances were satisfactory for teachers, but classmates - especially those already inclined to dislike you - were much harder to satisfy.

At least she had her backpack. Yuri had left it in her room for her, so tomorrow she could work on her homework. Rita had promised to come visit as soon as school let out to bring her tomorrow's work and go over calculus. She was lucky to have such a good friend.

Yuri was shaping up to be a good friend, too. It was strange to think she'd only known him for a day. This afternoon, they'd practically been strangers but he'd spent the whole evening with her to help keep her company. So far, he'd saved her life twice now. There were some things that accelerated bonds of friendship, and saving someone's life was one of them.

Estelle wasn't sure what happened, but her vision started to get blurry. She rubbed her eyes with her right hand, but the blurriness only increased and a headache blossomed through her skull. What was going on!? She had been feeling fine just a minute ago. She sucked a deep breath through the tube and tried to find the call button. She hated to think she might be bothering the nurse over nothing, but her heart started beating faster and she didn't think it was from fear. She felt dizzy and lightheaded even though was lying down. Her hand fumbled around on the side of the bed, searching for the button that would summon help.

A cold blast of air hit her and the tube rattled as she look quickly to the window. Someone was breaking in! A man crawled through the window and in her pained, fuzzy brain it took her a few seconds to realize she was on the third floor and there were no trees directly outside her window. Golden light filled the room, emanating from the figure walking toward her.

"Murrr…" she groaned in a panic as the strange wall-climber walked up beside her. Her hand fumbled for the call button again, this time to get security before this crazy guy did something to her.

"Shhh," the person said, and leaned over the bed. He rested his hands on the side of her head, but his touch was gentle. Even after blinking several times, Estelle couldn't get her vision to sharpen. She made out a blond head and golden light glowed around him like a halo.

"Don't be afraid," he said softly, and as she recognized the voice it all snapped together. Warmth soaked through her head and more light glowed around his hands.

The headache faded and her vision went back to normal, and even the pain around her neck dimmed. She blinked a few times and could now make a form out of the light behind him. It looked like… wings.

Flynn pulled his hands away and the light dimmed until he looked like an ordinary person. Her eyes widened in shock and she grunted, but couldn't ask any questions until the tube was removed. Flynn pulled his finger to his lips. A thousand questions burned through her mind, but all she could do was turn her head to watch Flynn walk back to the open window. He waved goodbye and then leapt, but Estelle wasn't worried. If he was on his way home, he probably wasn't headed toward the ground anyway.


	4. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Flynn closed Estelle's window and flew to the roof. When he landed, his golden wings folded behind him and faded away. There was a garden on the roof of the hospital, to give patients a relaxing outdoor retreat even in the heart of the city. It was a nice consideration. Even better, it gave him somewhere comfortable to sit and wait through the night.

Before heading to a bench directly, he leaned on the railing looking down at the city. High places had always been his favourite locations to lurk; perhaps they reminded him of home. There wasn't any snow yet to complete the picturesque view, but Zaphias pulled out all the stops with Christmas decorations. Every major building had at the very least strung a row of white lights around their roofs. Not too far away, even the Sword Stair was lit up green and red. Lights covered the narrow cement body of the tower and then encircled the viewing platform several hundred metres in the air. It was the tallest tower in the city - in the country, actually - and red lights had been wrapped around its spire to the very top. Flynn would never cease to be amazed at human ingenuity and courage. He wouldn't have thought twice about climbing the spire above the observation deck, but he had wings.

If he had to stand guard all night, there were worse views. It also gave him a chance to ponder the circumstances. There were far more humans in the world than angels, so a one-to-one guardianship was impossible except in special circumstances. Even if they could, one of the primary policies of Heaven was that angels did not get directly involved in affairs between humans without due reason. There had been a lot of debate in the ranks about when and why they should help out, but the official answer from the Archangels was that it had something to do with free will. Sometimes they nudged virtuous people in the right direction, or helped them out of minor jams, but directly manifesting and protecting someone from harm was a rare order.

Flynn was proud that when such an order had come down from Phaeroh, Niren had assigned the duty to him.  _A girl named Estellise Heurassein is going to be assaulted tonight. Protect her._  The thing that had Flynn on edge was that usually the only reason angels directly got involved was if the problem was being caused by a demon. They stayed out of intra-human conflicts, but when celestial powers got involved, they had to clean up after their own. Was Cumore a demon, then? He didn't  _feel_  like a demon, and Flynn didn't think he'd ever heard the name before. Randomly popping out and killing individual people didn't seem like a demon's MO, either. He drummed his fingers on the railing and tried to figure this out. Was Cumore special, or was Estelle? Or perhaps both of them?

Either way, for now he would stand guard. He'd thought his mission was complete last night, but then Niren said Estelle had been hospitalized and he'd better check it out. Letting her die from lingering effects of the attack was just as bad as failing to save her during the actual assault. It was lucky Yuri had gotten her to the hospital in time, although he wasn't sure if he liked the idea of her spending too much time with him. Yuri wasn't dangerous, but he could be a bad influence.

Flynn turned away from the railing to sit down and wait. When he turned, he saw a man standing by a tree, watching him. Flynn's hand immediately shot to his sword, but the man held up a hand.

"I mean you no harm." His voice was so deep it took him off-guard. The man had a pale face and long hair the colour of bleached bone, and his cloak was the red-brown of dried blood. He stood as still as a statue beside a bench, watching Flynn with an impenetrable look.

Flynn took a few steps forward, ready to fight. The man didn't seem to mean any harm, but he was ready just in case. The rooftop garden had long closed for the night so no ordinary human had a reason to be up here. "Can I help you?"

"You are the angel assigned to save the life of the girl, are you not?"

Was he an angel? Flynn didn't recognize him, but he supposed he didn't know every single one of his colleagues. He did, however, know all of the high-ranking ones, and this guy broadcast power like a neon sign. "I am. What is it to you?"

"Your task is not over. Even after she survives the night, you must not return to Heaven and think your job done. The girl must be protected at all costs."

"Why? Who is she? What is she in danger from?"

"Dispensing information regarding the future is precarious task. The more you think you know, the less you will see. Protect the girl, or you and everyone else who enjoys peace on this Earth will suffer."

"I don't understand." Flynn strode toward him, but the mysterious man turned and walked away. Flynn quickened his pace and then the man turned a corner and disappeared behind a tree. When Flynn rushed around the corner to catch up with him, the man had disappeared into the pale night. More confused than ever, Flynn slowly walked back to the bench.

Protect Estelle. That was what he had been doing, but it sounded like she was going to be in danger again. Was this a confirmation, then, that his orders had been based on who  _she_  was rather than the identity of Cumore? Flynn didn't question orders when he received them. They were passed down from God, and to question His authority was blasphemous. He did wonder about them, though. As far as he could tell, Estelle was just an ordinary human girl. What was he supposed to protect her from?

He sat down on the bench and stared at the paving stones in thought. He meant to focus on the mysteries surrounding Estelle, but then he noticed the dead weeds poking through the spaces between the stones. Across the terrace, green weeds were some of the few signs of life that fought through the oncoming Winter. This was the only place where those weeds inexplicably browned and wilted, directly where the man had been standing.

Flynn turned his eyes toward the tree the man had disappeared behind. Angels could not vanish like that, and even the most powerful angels could only minimally sense the future. The only ones that might have a level of power like that were the handful of angels that worked directly under God - Michael, Gabriel, Metatron, and the like. Flynn knew exactly who all of them were, and none of them matched the description of that mysterious man. Demons, of course, had even fewer powers than angels, since angelic power came from God and once they turned away from Him, Satan could only provide so much in replacement.

Not an angel or a demon, then. He was something else, something with great power and an eye for the future, and left death in his wake. With a shudder, Flynn was starting to get an idea of just who he might have been.

* * *

Flynn waited on the rooftop until the sun rose, and then he slipped over the side and hovered outside Estelle's window. He wasn't worried about being spotted, of course. Humans only saw angels if they wanted them to. In her room, a nurse was smiling and removing the tube from Estelle's mouth. Estelle had survived the night, not that Flynn was surprised. Damage to her carotid arteries had resulted in a stroke last night, but he'd healed it before any damage could be caused. His healing had also lowered the swelling and sped up the bruises' healing, which would evoke comment from doctors but at least she was alive.

Satisfied she was healthy, Flynn turned his sights to the skies. He hadn't forgotten his strange conversation last night, and was eager to discuss it with Niren. The city shrank beneath him and Flynn kept flying straight up to the cloudy grey skies. As he flew, the air first began to grow colder but then warmth hit him and he smiled. Coming home was always a comfort.

He broke through a ceiling of grey clouds and then put away his wings. His feet landed on soft grass and he took a deep breath of warm, sweet air. After the cold December morning on Earth, Heaven's infinitely perfect weather folded around him like a blanket.

"Good morning, Flynn," came a woman's voice.

He turned and saw a woman with copper hair walking across the lawn. Behind her was the home base of their brigade, a building of golden arches and crystal spires that twinkled in the ambient light. There were countless brigades across the world, but somehow every one of them had the same shining gate at the opposite end of the immaculate lawn, through which was the proper Heaven where human souls were rewarded. They also all had the same curving road paved with gold leading to the garden that was the residence of the seraphim and other mighty angels. As a low-ranked foot soldier in the army of God, Flynn had never been there himself, but his commander Niren went there to retrieve orders.

"Good morning, Sodia. How are you today?"

"Bored, mostly. I haven't had a mission in a week."

They started walking back to the main building. Distant music drifted to Flynn's ears, singing the praises of God.

"Tell me about your mission. Who was the girl you were sent to protect? Was it a demon she was in danger from?"

"I'm not actually sure." Flynn filled Sodia in on everything he knew, although he left out the part where Yuri got involved. Sodia had a low opinion of Yuri, and he didn't feel like getting into another discussion about how despicable he was. What he wanted to focus on was the strange man he'd met in the night. After he explained the mysterious meeting, he glanced at her. "What do you think?"

They reached the building and entered. Inside, the marble floors glittered with light let in through the multi-faceted glass ceiling. "I think you should tell Niren about this."

"I was going to. I planned to take it up with him before returning to watch over her."

A deep frown settled onto Sodia's face. "Are you certain you should do that?"

"Why wouldn't I? If she's in danger from supernatural forces, I have a duty to protect her."

"You have a  _duty_  to follow the Lord's orders."

"Yes, but it was on His orders I was originally sent to defend her."

Sodia rubbed her arm. "I am… concerned. Your orders were to protect her on that specific night. They said nothing about continuing to protect her. This mysterious figure now demands that you continue watching over her, but who is he? What if he's an agent of evil, and allowing the girl to die is for the good of the world?"

Flynn immediately shook his head. They climbed a grand staircase, passing a pair of angels arguing over which of their uniforms was a brigher shade of blue.

"I say, it is clearly mine!" one of them was whining to his shorter companion.

Flynn ignored them. "I don't want to believe that. We should be helping humans, and if she's in danger, I need to keep protecting her."

"Our number one task is to obey God's will. We have no idea who this man is and we have no reason to follow his commands. What if he's the one who sent the first attacker, in order to get the girl under our custody? Perhaps she would have died of natural causes soon, but he needs her alive for plans of his own and manipulated the angels into protecting her?"

Flynn frowned. He wished Sodia's suggestion didn't make sense, but he couldn't point out any major flaws other than that he didn't want it to be true. "I suppose that could be possible. But what if it's not? What if he's just an unorthodox figure for passing on the will of God?"

"Neither of us has a way to find out." Up ahead was the tall, arched door leading to Niren's office. "That's why our duty is to follow orders and obey the will of God above all else. Take it up with Niren."

"I will. Thank you for your advice, Sodia."

She said goodbye and he knocked on the door. Niren beckoned him to enter and he stepped into the office. Despite the grandeur of the building, Niren furnished his space sparsely. There were bookshelves and filing cabinets, and a globe in desperate need of update. Flynn wondered what knowing the extent of the Holy Roman Empire would do to help him understand current worldly affairs.

"Good day, Flynn." Niren looked up from his desk. "What do you have to report?"

"I completed my assigned mission with no problems, sir." He stood at attention before the desk, even though Niren had often told him such poise was unnecessary. "However, there was an odd occurrence last night."

"Oh? What's that?"

Flynn explained again and then watched Niren's face for clues. When he finished, Flynn offered Sodia's suggestion that the man was manipulating them. "What do you think, sir? I'm at a loss for what I should do. Should I continue to protect the girl or not?"

Niren leaned forward and stroked his chin. "Obviously, our first task is to figure out who that man was. Then we can decide whether to heed his warning. I think you already have an idea who he was though, is that correct?"

Flynn shifted his weight. "Not… really, sir. I have some ideas but no concrete proof."

Niren dropped his hands to the table. "So? Trust your gut."

"I'm only a foot soldier, sir. I wanted to seek your guidance and perhaps you could find out more from Phaeroh."

"You think we need to bother him with this? The Lord gave you a gut, Flynn. Use it. Even if you don't know for sure, who do you  _think_  he was?"

"Well…" Flynn hesitated and hoped he didn't sound stupid. "Based on his appearance and the reaction of plants to his presence, I think he might have been…" Flynn stood up a little straighter to stand by his assertion. "Death, sir."

"M-hm…" Niren drummed his hand on the desk. "That would have been my guess, too. See? You can trust your instincts sometimes. You're allowed to come up with your own thoughts, Flynn. Our branch of the Holy Order was gifted with free will, and it would be an insult to the Lord not to use it sometimes."

"Yes, sir."

"So, then. Death. What do you make of that?"

"That's why I'm uncertain, sir. It doesn't make sense that Death would ask us to protect someone. Shouldn't he  _want_  her to die?"

"Not necessarily. Death isn't evil, Flynn. It is true that he takes good men before their time, but he also takes evil men. He takes the lives of both angels and demons alike. He will never try to start a war, but he won't put any effort to end it, either. All he cares about is collecting the souls that fall, no matter which side they fought for. He is final arbiter in all things, and the most neutral force on Earth."

"That just makes the situation more confusing. If Death is impartial to all things, why would he want this specific girl to live?"

"That is the question. Hm…" Niren tapped the desk and then nodded to himself when he made a decision. "Death is not a servant of Satan. He is technically one of the Four Horsemen and thus a servant of God, but his circumstances are unique and he doesn't follow the same rules as the rest of them. Above all, he maintains balance in the world. He will do nothing to interfere in the events up the world until it is time for him to ride in the end of days. If he wants the girl to live, it must be because her death would upset that balance. She is not supposed to die, and so he wants us to protect her and maintain the balance. I'm appointing you as Estellise's guardian angel until we have reason to believe the danger is past. Protect her above all else."

He didn't mean to question his orders, but asked, "Sir, don't you want to consult the higher-ups?"

Niren waved his hand. "I don't need to bother them over every little thing. Death is one of the highest powers there is. If he wants her alive, that's good enough for me. When I have time, though, I will head over and give them a heads up of what's happening." Niren smiled. "If the Lord didn't want me to think for myself, He wouldn't have given me this brain."

"Very well, sir. I'll return to Earth and protect her to the best of my ability."

* * *

Estelle leaned against the pillows, idly scrolling through the internet on her iPad. Nobody else was online, of course. Everyone she knew was at school. Meanwhile, she lay in a hospital bed in a quiet room. A tray with the remains of her lunch sat to the side, and a gentle rain pattered against the window. Mushy snow mingled with the rain, but it was too warm and wet to stick on the ground.

The doctors were amazed at how quickly she'd recovered. They moved her out of the critical care unit this morning and to a private room on the medical floor, where they wanted her to hang out all day just in case her throat flared up again. She already knew it wouldn't, though. Her swelling hadn't gone down on its own - an angel had healed her. Whatever had happened last night, she felt certain that if Flynn hadn't shown up it would have killed her. He'd saved her life and sped up her recovery, but she wished she knew why.

On the screen, she scrolled through a page listing all the information the Bible gave about angels. It was all well and good and know that "a spirit hath not flesh and bones" according to Luke, but where was the explanation for angels with scruffy blond hair and t-shirts? What she really wanted to find was an answer to how angels decided who to save, but it didn't seem like the Bible answered that question. Why had Flynn saved her last night but nobody ever showed up to heal Mom? She'd prayed  _every day_  for months, and Heaven remained silent. Then, some weirdo pops up out of nowhere and an angel makes it his personal responsibility to keep her alive. It wasn't fair. Where had he been with his healing hands and magic wings when she  _needed_  a miracle?

Someone knocked on the door and then it opened. Estelle closed the tab and looked up, expecting a nurse, but instead it was a young men with a smile, a bouquet of flowers, a balloon proclaiming 'Get well soon!', and blond hair badly in need of a comb.

"Good afternoon, Estelle," Ioder said on his way in. He set the bouquet on the table by her bed and the balloon fell to the floor, weight down with a long string attached to an anchor wrapped in colourful paper.

"Hello," she said slowly. She wasn't sure what else to say, having not seen Ioder in months. He went to the same church, but since she hadn't been to church since her mom's funeral, it had been a while since she'd seen him. He had come to visit her apartment last summer to ask how she was doing and invite her back to church, and Estelle felt guilty thinking how he'd promised to see him that Sunday and then never turned up for six more months.

"There was a bit of a phone spree last night. Rita told her mom what happened, then her mom called Pastor Dan, and that turned into a relay of calls throughout the congregation."

"They were calling about me?"

"Yes. I think the message got a little jumbled by the time it reached everyone but everyone was very concerned to hear you'd been rushed to the emergency room. Pastor Dan made a few more calls to the hospital and then there was a rushed meeting this morning for everyone who didn't have work."

"But… I haven't gone to church for over a year." She glanced at the cheery balloon and felt guilty.

"We know, but you've been a part of the congregation since you were a baby. We know you're going through a hard time this year, but you're still one of us and we wanted to let you know you're in our prayers. They all put in a dollar to buy the flowers and balloon, and my mom asked me to deliver it on my lunch hour."

"That's…" Estelle brushed the flowers and spotted the note sticking out. It was covered in so many signatures she could hardly read them all. "That's so kind of you all."

"We'll always be ready to welcome you back when you feel up to returning to church," Ioder said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Ioder glanced at his phone. "I should probably be going so I have time to get back to school. I'll let everyone know you're doing well."

"Ok. And tell them I'm sorry for ignoring them all."

"I'm sure nobody holds it against you." He smiled and left the room.

Estelle fell back on the pillows and let out a long breath (which came much easier today, thankfully). The last time she'd been in that church, she'd worn a black dress and stood silently by the coffin as person after person put on their saddest faces to shake her hand and tell her how sorry they were for her loss, before going back to discussing their plans for Christmas as soon as they thought Estelle was out of earshot. She couldn't blame them, since the funeral had been only a couple of days before Christmas Eve. After that, she couldn't bring herself to go back.

* * *

Yuri and Rita showed up again later in the afternoon. He had picked Rita up after school to give her a lift to the hospital, and then wandered around exploring the ward and chatting with other patients while Rita went over the day's schoolwork. When he came back a couple of hours later, they flipped around the channels for a few hours watching cheesy movies while Yuri and Rita competed to see who could come up with the most sarcastic comments.

Around eight, the doctor gave Estelle a clean bill of health and she signed herself out. Yuri dropped off Rita first, and then Estelle sat in silence on the way to her apartment. On the way, she glanced at Yuri out of the corner of her eye and tried to figure out what his deal was. Flynn was an angel, but was Yuri? They knew each other and Yuri was said to have extenuating circumstances, but he certainly didn't act like an angel. The Bible was fairly vague on angels, but she was pretty sure they weren't supposed to drive around in crappy cars and beat up street thugs with a broken music stand. Besides, Flynn had healed her last night. If Yuri was an angel, he would have been able to heal her without rushing her to the hospital.

Yuri pulled up in front of her building. "Don't forget your backpack this time."

"Heh, I won't. Thank you for everything, Yuri."

"No problem. Hey, on Friday night, Judy, Raven and I are going to see this band play in a bar downtown. Do you want to come?"

"Oh, um, I'm only seventeen."

"That's fine, it's an all-ages thing. Judy and Raven are coming, so you know it's legit if the cops are coming."

Estelle hadn't been out socializing for a long time. Rita had offered a lot of fun activities in the months right after Mom died, but Estelle hadn't felt like doing any of them so eventually she stopped asking. It was her gut instinct to say no this time, too, and she momentarily resented the fact that she couldn't give the excuse 'my mom says I can't go'. "I have work Friday night. I already missed it today, so I can't call in sick again."

"We weren't planning to leave until around eight-thirty."

Even though she wanted to spend the weekend sitting at home and reading a book, she could practically hear her mom's voice urging her to get out of the house and have some fun. "Well… ok. That sounds fun. Can Rita come, too?"

"Sure. Tell her to meet you here and then I'll pick you both up at eight-thirty."

She forced a smile. "That sounds great." He drove away and she headed inside, backpack in tow. When she reached her apartment, she spread her blanket back on her bed and then lay down for a good five minutes. It was good to be home. After her mom's illness, she'd had enough hospitals to last a lifetime.

She was starting to fall asleep when someone knocked. She pulled herself out of bed and headed toward the door, when the knock came again and she realized it wasn't the front door that was knocking. She froze and then rotated toward the balcony. Someone was knocking on the sliding glass door of her 22nd storey balcony.

Estelle slowly approached the door, trying to make out the figure on the other side. It was dark, and with the lights on in the apartment it was hard to see anything but a reflection of her kitchen. When she got closer, she let out a sigh of relief.

"Good evening, Flynn." Estelle slid the door open. "Would you like to come in?" There were a few things she wanted to say to him about showing up on her balcony late at night and why he chose to get involved in her life now and not a year ago, but showing poor hospitality to angels was a good way to get on God's bad side. Assuming He existed. Estelle eyed Flynn on his way in; he was an actual, real-life angel. That sort of answered the question of whether God was real or not, didn't it? Estelle didn't feel like throwing herself at His feet, though, because confirmation that He  _was_  real just made her more angry about her mom slowly and painfully fading into death.

"I'm sorry to intrude at this hour. I wanted to talk to you as soon as possible."

"It's ok. Do you want a drink? I have tea, orange juice, milk, hot chocolate…"

"Nothing, thank you."

Estelle sat on the arm of her couch while Flynn stood near the door. He at least looked better dressed for the season this time, since he'd thrown on a knitted green sweater. It had a pattern of candy-canes around the chest. Of all the questions she had for him, wondering where and why he'd gotten it was at the top of her mind. As a child, she'd often wondered what angels looked like, but she had certainly never imagined one with hair that stuck up worse than Ioder's, standing awkwardly in her living room in an ugly Christmas sweater.

He saw her looking him over and asked, "Are you wondering how I got to your balcony?"

"No. I remember what happened last night. I know what you are."

Flynn levelly met her eyes. "And what am I?"

Suddenly, Estelle wasn't so sure. He could fly, he glowed, he could heal… there was definitely something supernatural about him, but it was her own religious upbringing that had leapt to angel. "You're…" her eyes turned to the floor. She hoped she didn't sound foolish when she asked, "Are you an angel?"

Light sprang into the room and golden wings unfolded from Flynn's back. At first glance, Estelle thought they were made of pure light, but when she looked closer she saw hundreds of tiny, iridescent feathers. The light bathed his face, gleaming in his bright blue eyes. Somehow, even his tacky sweater looked regal. "I am."

Estelle bowed her head. "I am humbled by your presence."

The light faded and he walked closer. "'Do not do that. I am a fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the prophets and of those who heed the words of this book. Worship God.'"

She glanced up in confusion and he smiled sweetly. "Revelation 22:9," he explained. "You shouldn't worship angels. We're just servants."

"Right." It was hard to wrap her head around this. Flynn was here, looking like he was made of flesh and blood, but he was an honest-to-God  _angel_. In her living room. "Why are you here?"

"I wanted to talk to you. Things are happenings that I don't understand, and I can only imagine that you're even more confused than I am."

She folded her arms. "What's there to be confused about? I was in danger and you protected me. That's what you do - or at least, what you're  _supposed_  to do."

"It isn't that simple. May I sit down?"

She motioned to the couch. "Go ahead." Estelle moved off the arm as well and folded her legs on the couch to face Flynn.

"We have reason to believe you are in danger from supernatural forces. Do you have any idea what this could be about?"

She frowned. "Supernatural? Look, I honestly don't know what any of this is about. Judy said Cumore was really weird. Is he an angel, too?"

"No." Flynn shook his head. "At least, I don't think so. I don't know what he is, but I don't believe he chose you as a target at random."

Estelle pulled her clenched fists against her bowed head and let out a deep breath through her nose. "I don't know what any of this is about," she said when she lifted her face. "I'm just trying to get through the month and weird things started happening. What do you mean I'm in danger? Are more people going to try to kill me?"

"It's a possibility," Flynn said carefully. "I've been appointed as your guardian angel. Whatever happens, I will protect you."

"Are you going to start following me around?"

"Not if you don't want me to. You'll have a direct connection to me through prayer, though. If you ever need me, all you have to do is pray and I'll hear it immediately, as long as a stronger angel doesn't block the signal for some reason."

"Can you… maybe walk home with me after work?" That was the one thing that made her nervous. After what happened on Monday night, the thought of making the walk alone again tomorrow night met her heart flicker. It would be nice to know he would come if she was in trouble, but having someone to walk beside her might keep her from getting in trouble in the first place.

Flynn gave one firm nod. "Of course. I'll meet you at your bookshop a few minutes before you close."

"Thanks."

"Do you feel safe staying home alone? If you wish, I could stand guard here."

"No, I think I'm ok here."

"Good. Let me know if there's anything else you need."

"How long do you think this will go on?" Getting a body guard was nerve-wracking as it was, but she hoped he wasn't expecting to need to protect her for the rest of her life.

"I have no idea. I'm sorry I can't tell you more. All we know is that you are in danger from unnatural causes and I will do everything in my power to protect you until that changes. Hopefully we can clear this up soon."

"Yeah, I really hope so."

Flynn stood. "I'll leave you in peace for the rest of the night."

He started walking to the door, but Estelle twisted to her knees and leaned over the side of the couch. "Wait. Can I ask one more question?"

Flynn turned back with one hand on the door. "Yes?"

"How do you know Yuri? Is he an angel, too?"

A flicker of something passed over Flynn's face, but it was too quick for her to make out. "No," he said stiffly. "He isn't. Be careful around him."

"What do you mean?" Her arms tensed. "Is he dangerous?"

"I'm certain he won't try to harm you, but he has certain… ways of thinking that could be harmful. He may try to turn you against God. Hold onto your faith, and hanging out with him should be fine. Have a good evening."

She silently watched him step out onto the balcony, spread his wings, and take off into the sky. When his point of light had faded into the darkness, she sighed. She wasn't even sure if she still had a faith to hold onto.


	5. Silver Bells

As Estelle expected, the majority of her classmates were not considerate of her absence going unmarked by the staff. If any of them asked, she tried to explain in as few details as she could that she’d been in the hospital, but most didn’t ask and just glared behind her back. The first two periods were hell to get through, and when she was finally released she zipped through the halls as fast as she could to find Rita in their stairwell.

“Hey.” Rita looked up from a textbook as Estelle clattered down the stairs. “Everything ok?”

“Huh? Yes, I’m fine.”

“Ok, because you have a look on your face like something happened.”

“Something did happen but it’s not a bad thing this time.”

“Ok, good, because the last thing that happened nearly killed you.”

Estelle lowered herself to the steps. “I’m fine this time, really.”

“Are you sure? You still sound a little hoarse.”

“Rita! Stop being such a worrywart.”

She slammed the chemistry book as pink slipped into her cheeks. “I’m not! You were in the hospital!” She turned her head and crossed her arms on the book. “I think that’s a pretty serious thing and I was just showing a little concern, that’s all.”

Estelle leaned over and pulled Rita into a hug. “I’m sorry I worried you.”

“Gah - you shouldn’t apologize. You were really hurt and -and besides it’s not like I was that worried. I knew you’d pull through.” Despite her words, Rita leaned into the hug. After a few seconds, Rita struggled away from her and said, “Ok, ok, so what did you want to tell me?”

“Well.” Now that it was time to say the words, she suddenly didn’t know what to say. “You know how I told you about Flynn? The weird guy who’s Yuri’s sort-of-friend?”

“Sure.”

“He came to my apartment last night.”

Rita did a double-take. “He what? What was he doing in your apartment at night?!”

“Oh! No, no, it’s not like that!” She frantically waved her hands. “He needed to tell me that he’s - he’s an angel.” Estelle rested her hands on her knees and leaned forward, waiting for Rita to react.

Rita did not. Instead, she rose an eyebrow. “What did he do that’s so great?”

“What? No! I mean he’s a real angel. Like from the Bible.”

Once again, Rita failed to react. “He’s… what?”

“The night I was in the hospital, something went wrong and I think I almost died.” Rita opened her mouth to react with horror, but Estelle kept going. “But I was ok because Flynn climbed through the window and laid his hands on me and then light glowed and I healed!”

That was supposed to be soothing, but Rita’s gaping mouth and wrinkled nose showed she didn’t agree. “Estelle, a weird guy creeping through your window and laying his hands on you is not a good thing. You were on a lot of medications that night - how are you sure that glowing light actually happened? Are you ok? Did you report this?”

“N-no, it wasn’t like that at all. The next day the doctor said he was amazed at how fast I healed. Last night, he showed up on my balcony. I let him in and confronted him about what happened and he confirmed it. He spread out his wings. I really did see this, Rita. They were huge and golden and glowed with holy light. He’s the real deal, Rita.”

Rita stared at her for a few seconds, mouth still hanging open. Then she lowered her gaze to the chemistry text book and her grip tightened, clinging to science in the face of this discovery. “It’s… but… that’s not physically possible. The Bible is just a book of stories. My parents always drag me to church, but it’s not like I believe in any of that stuff.”

“I wasn’t sure if I believed anymore, either,” she said gently. For Rita, who placed so much stock on the world of science, this must be even harder to believe. “But it’s true.”

When Rita raised her head, the confusion was gone and replaced by excitement. “Do you know what this means? We have factual evidence that supernatural beings exist. This is the greatest discovery since - since gravity! I don’t know about God and all that other stuff, but if magical flying healing people exist, that’s amazing.”

Estelle beamed. “Isn’t it, though?”

“I’ve got to meet this guy.”

“I’ll introduce you as soon as I find a good time. Oh! That reminds me, do you want to go to a bar on Friday night with Yuri and his friends?”

For a second Rita’s face showed surprise that Estelle was the once suggesting this, but then she nodded. “Sure, sounds like fun.”

* * *

 

Estelle was leaving school when her phone rang. She paused just long enough to feel frustration, because there was only one person who would call her rather than text her. Then she stepped so the side of the staircase and held it to her ear. “Hello?”

“Good afternoon, Miss Heurassein,” came Ragou’s whiny voice. It seemed rude to think of a person’s default voice as ‘whiny’ but that was the impression she got every time he spoke to her. “You made a request for additional funds this month. I’m going to need you to come in and discuss this at your earliest convenience.”

“Ok… I have work today and tomorrow and you’re closed on the weekend. I could make it on Tuesday?”

“That is acceptable, but your funds won’t be released until we discuss it.”

“But those funds were going to the hospital.”

“Yes, the transaction was denied because you don’t have the authority to withdraw from your account.”

She leaned against the stone railing and tried not to sound too frustrated. “But medical emergencies are one of the allowed circumstances I can use it for.”

“Yes, but was this truly an emergency, hm? You will need to discuss this with me in person so we can get this worked out.”

Estelle fought to hold in a frustrated sigh. If her payment had bounced, the hospital might come after her or add interest to what she already owed. This couldn’t wait until Tuesday. “Ok… can I come in right now?”

“Yes. I’ll see you soon, Miss Heurassein.”

He hung up and Estelle took a deep breath. Ragou was only doing his job, she reminded herself, and she only had to put up with him for a few more weeks. On December 28th, she’d turn eighteen and finally have full control over her inheritance. She could put up with an obnoxious trust fund manager for a few more weeks. Before hopping on a bus, she made another call.

“Hello, Mr. Dropwart. I’m really sorry, but I’m going to have to be late today. Something came up with my hospital bill and I need to work it out at the bank.”

On the other end, Drake grumbled. “It’s rather unprofessional to call at such short notice, and especially after you already took a day off.”

“Ah… I’m so sorry. I’m worried that if I don’t get this taken care of the hospital will come after me for having overdue bills.”

“Well, I can’t force you to come in. You take care of what you need to take care of. I’m just glad you’re feeling well enough today to come in at all.”

“Thank you, sir! I’ll be in as soon as I can, and again, I’m really sorry!”

That had been less painful than she thought. Perhaps the lingering hoarseness to her voice reminded everyone how close a call she’d had and they were more willing to let things slide. She left the school behind and walked to the nearest bus stop. She took the usual bus, but stayed on as she passed the stop near work. The bus took her downtown and she hopped off near the bank. She’d spent a lot of time here in the past year, and the best thing she could say about her upcoming birthday was that at least she wouldn’t have to deal with Ragou anymore.

Ragou was waiting for her when she arrived at his office. He folded his hands and had nothing in front of him, making it look like he’d been sitting patiently as she dawdled her feet to get here. She noticed, however, that the form sitting off to his right had an unfinished sentence and imagined him pushing it away just as he heard her footsteps in order to guilt her about being late. Considering he’d been the one to spring this appointment on her, it didn’t work.

“Good afternoon, Miss Heurassein.”

She always hated the way he addressed her. When she was six, there had been a woman at church who always called her ‘Miss Estelle’, and it made her feel so special, like a grown-up. Ragou used the same tone of voice when he addressed her now, but it didn’t make her feel special - it made her feel like he thought he was talking to a six year old. “What exactly is the problem with my account?”

Ragou shuffled through some files and pulled out a paper. “Yesterday evening you used your card to transfer $352 to the hospital. I have a copy of the bill here. As you know, any funds withdrawn from your account for personal expenses need to be cleared by me in advance.”

Estelle folded her hands on her lap. “I was in the hospital. I almost died.”

“As unfortunate as that is,” and he said this with the same amount of sympathy someone might give to a friend complaining about losing a sandwich, “your health insurance covered all emergency expenses. Your bill was for the cost of a private room and television. Neither of these, I would say, are medical emergencies. You could have recovered perfectly fine in a ward and television was unnecessary.”

Estelle frowned. “It’s my money. I didn’t want to stay in a room with three other people and I was bored.”

“My dear, if I let you withdraw money to spend on frivolities every time you got bored, it would defeat the purpose of having a trust fund manager. This is the kind of attitude that makes me feel that your mother should have set the age of inheritance at twenty-five, or at the very least twenty-one.”

Estelle bristled with indignation. “I don’t think it’s that immature to want a little comfort in the hospital after nearly dying. I don’t ask you for money very often and this was one expense I chose to make.”

“M-hm…” Ragou rolled a pen around his fingers. “Ordinarily I would impose a cut to your allowance in the subsequent months to account for the disparity. Since this is your last month, however, I will have to take it back from this month’s allowance.”

“You can’t do that!” If he took her money, then once she paid her rent and bought her groceries, she’d have nothing left over for everyday things, like a cup of coffee or bus fares. “You’re just going to give it back to me in three weeks anyway.”

“This is our policy, Miss Heurassein.”

“But I won’t have any money to spend on… anything.” It was completely unfair that she should live as if she were broke when she had millions of dollars sitting in an account. “It… it’s Christmas.”

“Yes?” Ragou raised his eyebrows. “Were you planning on purchasing gifts? For whom? All of your family is dead.”

Estelle was too shocked by such a blatant statement to react until he pulled out a form and pushed it toward her.

“Sign here, please, verifying that $352 will be transferred from you chequing account to the trust.”

“Mr. Ragou, please, could you perhaps take half of it?”

Ragou inspected her through his glasses with his mouth in a thin line. Finally, he let out a prolonged sigh and pulled the form back. As if completing a great burden, he scribbled out the numbers and said, “I really shouldn’t be doing this, you know. I’m allowing you to get away with irresponsible spending. The reason the bank employs me is to keep children like yourself from blowing through their parents’ hard-earned life savings, but I’ll give you a little treat because it is Christmas.”

“Thank you, sir.” He’d probably planned to only take half of it from the beginning, but this way he looked like a nice guy. Estelle wasn’t about to fall for it, though. She’d had too many meetings with him and found herself wanting to take a shower as soon as she left his office to wash away his contagious sliminess too many times to be fooled.

“I’d like to schedule another meeting. There’s some paperwork we need to go over before the account transfers to you.”

“All right. When?”

“Next Wednesday afternoon.”

Estelle held in a frown. “I have work on Wednesday afternoon.”

“Yes, well…” Ragou flipped through his day planner. “That’s the only time I’m free. You’ll have to make arrangements.”

“Can’t we just go over it now?”

“No, no, I don’t have the forms ready now.”

She let out a sigh. “All right. Wednesday afternoon it is.”

“Good, good. Now then, you’d better be going. You’re late for work and that isn’t a habit you should let yourself fall into.”

“But, you’re the one who-”

Ragou raised his finger. “Tut-tut, if you’re going to be responsible for your mother’s fortune in three weeks you should first prove yourself responsible for your own decisions.”

Estelle bit her lip to keep herself from saying something she’d regret. “Yes, sir.”

* * *

 

Mr. Dropwart didn’t look too mad when she finally showed up at Drake’s Books. He rose from the desk and asked, “Everything sorted out?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. I leave the shop in your hands.”

He headed for the door and she took his place behind the desk. Before leaving, Dropwart turned around and said, “And, Estelle… the security cameras are all on. You have my phone number and I live nearby. If you get any customers that make you feel uncomfortable, I can be here in five minutes. Don’t hesitate or think you’re bothering me.”

She gave him her first honest smile all afternoon. “Thank you for your concern. I think I’ll be ok.”

The afternoon passed uneventfully. None of her customers gave her the creeps and she managed to keep her customer service smile on the whole time. As much as she wanted to smash the Christmas display and skip over this whole miserable holiday, she cheerfully helped grandmothers pick books for their grandkids and didn’t bat an eye when a man returned a whole stack of books upon discovering his estranged wife had bought the exact same ones for their daughter, forcing Estelle to spend fifteen minutes hunting down where they all went and restocking them. The only event that made her falter was when a five year old boy leaned on the counter next to his paying mother and stared at her bruises.

“What happened to your neck?” he asked.

His mother froze with a twenty-dollar bill halfway across the counter. “Jamie,” she hissed, “don’t stare. It’s rude.”

Estelle leaned over the counter and smiled. “I was wearing a necklace and it got too tight. You be careful.”

His eyes widened and he bobbed his head. “I will!”

The women led her son away and Estelle looked up at the next customer. “Oh! Hello, Flynn.” She glanced at the clock and saw she was about ten minutes to closing.

“A necklace, huh?”

She smiled at him. “I think he’s a little young for the full story.”

“Most likely. So, how was your day? Any problems?”

“It was… fine.”

He noticed the hesitation and tilted his head. “Something wrong?”

“I just had this annoying meeting with my banker. I don’t suppose you could smite him or something?”

Flynn chuckled. “No, I’m afraid smiting is a bit above my pay grade. Tell me about it.”

Estelle reported on the frustrating meeting and finished with, “I just can’t wait until the bank makes him hand all the money over to me. He’s so vexing.”

“He does sounds like a frustrating person to deal with. At least you can be rid of him soon.”

“Yeah.” She pushed her hair behind her ear and glanced at the clock again. “It’s time to start closing up. Wait a minute.”

Flynn examined a rack of Christmas cards while Estelle fussed around the shop and got everything ready for closing. When she was done, she walked over to the stand. “If you buy one now, I’ll have to unlock the register and it will be a huge pain.”

Flynn pulled his hand away. “I was just looking. I like Christmas cards.”

“What about them?”

“The fact that they exist. People look at this, the happiest time of the year, and it makes them want to remind the ones they love that they care about them. I think it’s sweet. Even people who don’t follow the Lord get into the spirit. I think that shows that happiness is infectious. Even if you don’t celebrate the birth of Christ, people just want a time of year to give each other gifts and sing happy songs. What’s not to like about that?”

“It is very nice,” she admitted.

“There’s something bothering you. Your house was bare of decorations and you seem uncomfortable with the ones surrounding us now. Why is that?”

“I used to love Christmas.” Estelle stared at a reproduction of a painting on the cover of one of the cards. It showed a happy family bundled up in a sleigh, with a mother cradling a toddler in her arms. “It was my favourite time of year, for all the reasons you said. But last year… my mother passed away right before Christmas. Whenever I look at Christmas things now, I just… I think about her.  I can’t separate Christmas from that pain.”

“I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you. To be honest, I sort of feel guilty getting an angel to protect me. I stopped going to church. I’m… not exactly a faithful Christian anymore.”

“Why did you stop going?”

Estelle stepped away from the card rack and leaned against the counter. Admitting this to an angel made her feel guilty. “Because… I started wondering if God was even real. I wasn’t sure if I still worshipped Him, or if He even existed.”

Flynn frowned. “Well… I can assure you He exists. I’ve seen Him with my own eyes.”

“Yes. As soon as I realized what you were, I knew I had been wrong to doubt God’s existence. The thing is, even if He does exist, I’m not so sure I want to put my faith in Him.”

“But… why not?”

It must be hard for an angel to understand. “Because He let my mother die. Because He lets thousands of peoples’ mothers die every day. Because innocent people all around the world are suffering and dying and He doesn’t do anything about it, while awful people take advantage of them and live in luxury. If He has the power to stop this, why doesn’t He? If He doesn’t have that power, what makes Him a god worth worshipping?”

Flynn’s face darkened and words hesitated in his constrained mouth before he let them out. “You say He lets innocents suffer, but is it not said that ‘there is none righteous, no, not one’? ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God’.”

Anger flashed through her heart. “Are you saying my mother deserved to die?”

“No!” He waved his hands. “I certainly didn’t mean to imply that. But no person is truly innocent.”

“Babies. Babies die every day. Are you saying babies aren’t innocent?”

Flynn frowned and uncomfortably folded his arms while shifting his weight.  He didn’t meet her eyes when he mumbled, “Babies are still born with original sin.”

“But they’re hardly even sentient!” Estelle planted her fists on her hips. “How can you condemn an infant as being unworthy of being saved because of something they were born with?”

“That’s… the official position.”

“Well, I don’t like the official position. Because some woman thousands of years ago ate an apple, my mother deserved to die? It isn’t fair! And what about me? Was I not also born with sin? Why am I worthy of being protected above so many others? There are people living in war zones who could use a guardian angel.”

“We rarely get involved if the problem is between humans.” He shifted his arms and the candy canes on his chest bunched together.

“I just think angels should protect people who haven’t hurt anyone.”

Flynn looked at the ground and for a moment his confident expression slipped. In a quiet voice, he said, “I wish we could, too.” He straightened up and added, “But it isn’t my place to question the orders past down from the archangels.”

Estelle glanced at the clock. “We should probably go.”

“Do you still want me to walk you home?”

She glanced at the dark street outside and then said, “Yes.” She was irritated with him, but not him personally. She was irritated with the whole holy order and Flynn just had the misfortune of representing it. She got the feeling that most of what he had said was just parroting the official stance of the angels rather than his personal beliefs. There probably wasn’t a whole lot of encouragement for individualism among God’s servants.

When they stepped outside, Flynn said, “I truly am sorry about your mother.”

“I know. I’m not really mad at you. I always thought angels were all powerful.”

“We’re really not.” They took off down the dark street. “In many respects, I envy humans.”

“Really?” Estelle cocked her head “Why?”

“There’s a lot more freedom for a human. There are no angel television stars or explorers, or anything like that. We deliver messages, we fight demons, and we sing the praises of God. Those are about the only career options for an angel. I am happy with my work, but sometimes I wonder if I would have been happy as a human, with the freedom to become an artist or a teacher or… anything, really.”

Estelle shivered and buried her hands in her pockets. She was still wearing her school uniform, and though her knee-socks were thick, her legs were still cold. Flynn didn’t seem to be bothered by the chill at all. “I suppose the grass is always greener in someone else’s plane of existence.”

“True. There are definitely things I enjoy. I’m glad I have been gifted with such a long lifespan that I can watch the world change and grow over thousands of years. You really have come a long way.”

“Just how old are you?”

“I’m not really sure. I lost track.” He shrugged. “Some of my earliest memories involve Mesopotamia. I remember trying some very good soup in Çatalhöyük.”

“Wow…” Estelle suddenly felt very, very young. “I guess that’s why you’re not very good at being fashionable. It would be hard to keep up with the changing trends so often.”

Flynn looked down and plucked his sweater away from his shirt. “Is this not ok? Yuri told me I should get a Christmas sweater. He told me it would help me fit in.”

Estelle giggled. “I think Yuri might have been pulling your leg.”

“I like this sweater, though. It’s rather cozy.”

“You should keep wearing it then. It makes you look like a dork, but not like an immortal angel trying to blend in with humans, so I think it’s ok.”

“Yuri thinks he’s so clever,” Flynn grumbled.

“How exactly do you know Yuri?”

Flynn’s expression stiffened. “We were once friends.”

“But not anymore?”

“It’s… complicated.”

“Do you want to be friends?”

Flynn sighed as they waited for the light to change so they could cross the street safely. “I don’t know. I wouldn’t mind, but I’m not sure how that’s going to happen.”

“Maybe you should get him a Christmas present.” The red hand turned into a white person and they continued walking. “Let him know you still care about him.”

“Heh, maybe. I’m not sure what I’d get him, though. As much as I love Christmas, I’ve never participated in the gift-giving myself.”

“You just get him something he likes. I’m going to get Rita a chemistry set - one for grownups so it isn’t just potato batteries and baking soda volcanoes.”

“Hm… well I’ll think about it.”

They reached her apartment without any problems. Estelle was pretty sure there wouldn’t have been any even if she was alone, since she’d made the walk hundreds of times and never had any trouble until Monday night, but having an angel on hand made her a lot less nervous.

 

 


	6. The Herald Angels

Estelle and Rita were leaning against the columns in front of her building when a black car pulled up. It wasn’t Yuri’s disaster-waiting-to-happen, but he hopped out of the passenger seat. “Hey.”

“You’re late,” Rita snapped. She checked her cellphone and clarified, “Almost ten minutes late.”

“Sorry for the delay,” Raven said from the driver’s seat. “We had to stop for gas.”

“At least this car doesn’t look like it’s held together with duct tape.”

“Hey!” Yuri pointed his finger at Rita and said, “Respect the car.”

Rita climbed into the back and slid to the middle seat while Estelle sat next to her. On the other side was Judy.

“So you’re sure it’s ok for us to come?” Rita asked.  “I’m still fifteen.”

“It’s all-ages,” Yuri said.  “Although, I could hook you up with a fake ID if you want.” He rifled through his wallet and then held out his driver’s license. “It’s fool-proof. Judy set me up with a pro on parole.”

“Hey, now,” Raven said, “ya can’t go offerin’ that ta kids. We did that special for you.”

“Your license is fake?” One time Estelle got detention at school because she forgot to get a form signed. It had been the trauma of her month because Estelle had never had detention before and merely being associated with the other rule-breakers in detention caused her shame and agony. She wasn’t sure if she was prepared to enter the world of Friday night bars and fake IDs.

“Yeah, you can’t even tell.” Yuri slipped it back into his wallet.

Rita squinted at him. “Hold are you, anyway? You sure don’t look like you’re under nineteen.”

“Oh, I’m old enough, I just don’t have any legit ID.”

“Hold on,” Estelle said, “if that’s a fake driver’s license… did you actually pass the test?”

Yuri grinned. “Not exactly.”

“Don’t worry,” Raven said. “Judy grilled him on all the traffic rules and rode around with him all day before helping get the ID.”

If Yuri was qualified for an actual license, why not just take the test? It must have something to do with those extenuating circumstances again.

“Hmph.” Rita crossed her arms. “You guys are cops and you help him break the law?”

“Priorities, darlin’,” Raven said, never taking his eyes off the road. “Yuri’s not hurtin’ nobody so I don’t see a point in arrestin’ him.”

“The real crime is this music.” Yuri reached for the stereo and Raven swatted his hand away.

“My car, my music.”

“This is police brutality! You’re voluntarily listening to _Nickelback_ , for Christ’s sake.”

Rita snorted. “Says the guy who hit the high notes in ‘We Are the Champions’.”

Judy snickered. “It’s more funny when he tries to hit the high note but fails.”

Yuri glared out of the corner of his eye. “I think you would be wise to remember who’s driving you home, Judy.”

After a few more minutes of driving, and a few more arguments about how terrible Raven’s taste in music was, they parked and climbed out of the car. The bar was just down the street, and then they walked through the door and down some steps. The band was already playing, so they found a round booth and then Raven went off to get drinks while Yuri watched the band on the low stage. Estelle was no expert in music genres, but they had a lot of guitar and were singing very fast.

Raven returned with a tray and slid into the booth next to Judy. “Here ya go. Beer for you two,” he passed a pair of bottles to Yuri and Judy, “and pop for the minors. See? I’m not a terrible cop.”

Yuri pulled his drink forward. “So have you guys found anything about the guy who attacked Estelle?”

Estelle looked to Judy with hope, but the frustration that hit both Judy and Raven’s face dashed it.

“Haven’t found a darn thing,” Raven said.

“As far as records are concerned, he may as well not exist.” Judy took a sip from her bottle and pursed her lips. “It’s the weirdest thing.”

Raven scowled at his drink. “The sarge is gettin’ annoyed, too. Whitehorse says there’s no way a man can exist without some kind of trace, but Cumore seems ta have figured out how.”

“I wanted to talk to you about that, Yuri.” Judy glanced at Rita and Estelle and asked, “You wouldn’t happen to know anything about this through… your line of work?”

Yuri shook his head. “You’ve got me. Never seen the guy in my life. I’ll let you know if I find anything out.”

Estelle glanced between him and Judy. How much did he know about Flynn? How much did Judy and Raven know? How much did they know that _she_ knew?

“Hm, I’m not sure I like this band,” Judy said. “The one from two weeks ago was better.”

“Yeah. This guy’s a little heavy on the guitar solos,” Yuri said.  “Makes it seem like he’s full of….”He trailed off while staring into the crowd. “Oh, god dammit.”

Judy followed his gaze. “What’s wrong?”

Estelle scanned the crowd to see what Yuri was looking at. The space was full of tables and people milling about, and right in front of the stage people were dancing. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary until she noticed that one of the people milling about seemed to be looking for someone. Yuri’s gaze was fixed on a young man with bright pink hair and bleached bangs.

Judy frowned. “Is that Zagi?”

“Who the hell is Zagi?” Rita asked.

“He’s an old friend of Yuri’s,” Judy said.

Yuri rolled his eyes. “For the last time, we are _not_ friends.”

“What’s he doin’ here?” Raven asked, leaning against the booth and unperturbed.

“I have no idea, but it’s probably stupid.” Yuri rose and turned back to say, “You guys stay here. I’ll deal with him.”

“Do you need any help?” Judy offered.

“Nah, you don’t need to get involved with this. I’ll be right back.”

“Yuri sure knows a lot of strange people,” Estelle said.

Rita snorted and took a sip of Coke. “No kidding. What’s with that guy’s hair, anyway?”

Judy stroked her own blue hair. “You don’t like dyed hair?”

“Yours looks fine. It isn’t three different colours and sticking up in weird ways. I bet he’s one of those losers who watches too much weird Japanese crap and thinks he’s Yu-Gi-Oh.”

“Yu-Gi-Oh isn’t the name of the character,” Raven said. “The character is named Yugi Moto.”

Rita turned her dismissive gaze on him. “And how do _you_ know that?”

Raven faltered. “Uh… someone I know watched an episode… or five… there’s a marathon on TV and…” He quickly moved the conversation along. “Your hair’s cool, too, Estelle. I’m surprised your school lets ya dye it.”

“Oh, thank you.” Estelle pulled her eyes away from Yuri and Zagi. They were having a heated conversation, but over the band she couldn’t make it out. “Actually, they threw a bit of a fuss when I first did it.” She twirled a few pink strands between her fingers. “It was kind of an impulsive thing, right after my mom got diagnosed…. I wanted to show support for her. I told her I was going to cut it all off so she wouldn’t feel so bad when she lost hers, but she said she liked the colour too much and didn’t want me to lose it.”

Judy smiled softly. “That’s very sweet.”

“My school wanted me to dye it brown until my natural colour came back, but my Econ teacher stood up for me. She asked the principle if he wanted to end up in the paper as the school that punished a girl trying to support her dying mother, and he decided it wasn’t that big a deal.” She smiled faintly. “I keep dyeing it because every time I pass the hair dye section in the store I remember how much she smiled when she saw it.”

Rita’s grin took up his whole face. “I think your hair looks great!”

“Heh, thank you, Rita. Excuse me for a minute.” She slid out of the booth and scanned for a sign. Across the crowded room she spotted a faded washroom sign and made her way over. She didn’t see Yuri in the crowd anymore, and wondered if he’d gone off to talk to Zagi somewhere in private.

When she was washing her hands in the dingy washroom, a cold breeze hit the back of her neck. A narrow window at the top of the wall had been cracked open. Judging by the lingering odour, it had been an attempt to ventilate marijuana smoke. What struck her, though, was the sound of a door slamming shut and then a voice.

“Trouble is stirring, Yuri. We may not know exactly who or what, but even the angels are on alert. It’s time for you to pick a side.”

“I’m not going to tell you to fuck off again, Zagi.”

“I know you won’t. This is your one last chance to pledge your loyalty. I didn’t want to give it to you, but I don’t make the rules.”

Yuri snorted. “Like hell.”

“Yes, that’s the general idea.”

Estelle crept to the window and held her breath. Eavesdropping was rude, but she was dying to learn what Yuri’s deal was.

“I’m going to say this one more time as clearly as I can. I don’t want anything to do with you or your cronies.”

“Oh, good.” Zagi’s voice slithered from his lips. “I was hoping you’d say that.”

A couple of seconds later, Estelle heard a grunt and a thud. Something crashed and then Zagi growled, “I’m going to make you bleed, Yuri!”

Estelle bolted from the washroom. Her drive to help eclipsed rational thinking and she dashed up the stairs to the back exit without taking the time to go back to the table.

She emerged in an alley, lit by a single bulb by the door. A tin trash can had been knocked over, and Yuri held his hands up defensively with his back to the wall. In Zagi’s hand was a short bronze sword and a manic grin plastered across his face. Yuri’s sleeves were ripped and bloody lacerations covered his arms from using them as shield for his face. He tried to fight back, but being unarmed put him at a distinct disadvantage.

Yuri spotted her, but Zagi’s attention was all on him. Estelle ran forward and grabbed the empty trash can. Zagi threw a punch with his left hand and then Estelle smashed the trash can over his head.

It wasn’t very heavy so all it did was phase him, but that gave Yuri an opening to smash his knee into his gut and knock him to the ground. Yuri grabbed the sword and then Estelle kicked Zagi in the back as hard as she could. Zagi grunted and started to get up, but threw himself backward when Yuri came at him with the sword. He crawled backward with hatred etched into his face.

“Arrrgh, you’ll pay for this, Yuri!” He jumped up but instead of attacking, sheets of grey light expanded from his back. Estelle gasped and stepped away as his wings flapped and heaved him off the ground. His wings looked an awful lot like Flynn’s, but they were dim and colourless compared to Flynn’s shining gold.

Yuri probably could have leapt for him and dragged him down to defeat him, but instead he sank to the ground with a groan.

“Yuri!” Estelle dropped to her knees. “How badly are you hurt?”

“It’s fine, really.”

She examined his face, and was shocked to notice that the cut on his cheek had already stopped bleeding. It was hard to see through the faint light and the long sleeves of the shirt under his Black Sabbath t-shirt, but the lacerations weren’t bleeding anymore either. “But… how?”

Yuri plucked the ripped sleeves. “Damn. I really liked this shirt, too.”

“Yuri… are you an angel, too?” Flynn had said he wasn’t, but what other explanation could there be?

He smirked. “Not quite.”

Estelle sat on her heels and folded her hands in her lap. “If you don’t mind me asking, what are you?”

“Well,” Yuri licked his fingers and then scrubbed the blood smeared on his face, “if you want to be completely accurate, I’m classified as a demon.”

Her lips parted with a tiny gasp. “N-no… you can’t be. You’re so nice.”

“Personally, I think that label is prejudiced. It’s like when Christians assume all atheists are heartless monsters. Just because I turned away from God doesn’t mean I turned toward Satan. I did more of a ninety degree turn than a full one-eighty.”

Her brow wrinkled. “I’m not sure I understand.”

Yuri had cleaned up as well as he could, so he got up and then took Estelle’s hand. “It’s like this,” he said while pulling her to her feet. “God made all the angels. Then Lucifer decided he didn’t think God was all that great, and set off to have his own party with blackjack and hookers. A bunch of angels went with him, and we call those demons. Over the years, other angels fell as well. Some went to Hell to stand by Lucifer, others went rogue.”

“And that’s you?”

He nodded. “Yep. I decided the Heaven gig was stunting my career so I broke off to pursue solo work.” As he opened the door, he said, “The way I see it, all demons are fallen angels, but not all fallen angels are demons. ‘Course, if you ask the bigwigs up in Cloud City, they’ll say anyone who chooses to turn their back on God is a soulless monster who deserves to perish.”

They returned to the booth and Judy raised her eyebrows at the sight of his sleeves. “I see your conversation with Zagi went about as well as they usually do.”

“Does this happen often?” Estelle asked, giving Yuri a horrified look.

Yuri shrugged. “Every now and then. Ol’ Lucy doesn’t like rogue angels. He wants them working for him, or dead.”

“Wait, what?” Rita looked around the group, who all knew what was going on. “Lucy who? What’s this about angels?”

“Ah, I guess I should fill you in,” Yuri said. “How much does she know already?”

“I told her about Flynn.”

“Ok, good. I’m like Flynn, except I’m capable of coming up with my own ideas.”

“Huh?”

“Yuri is a fallen angel,” Estelle supplied. From the non-reaction of the others, they already knew.

“Huh.” Rita took another sip of Coke. “So does that mean you also have wings and stuff?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Judy said. “Yuri’s not really that powerful.”

“Hey, I’m right here, you know.”

Rita looked at him skeptically. “So what _can_ you do?”

“He can heal really fast!” Estelle said excitedly. “Zagi cut him up but he’s already better.”

“An angel’s power comes from God,” Yuri said. “The more faith you have, the stronger it is. When you fall from Heaven, you’re cut off from that power. After having it for a few thousand years that power doesn’t just poof away. It fades gradually. Wings are the first to go, though.”

“You can’t heal other people, can you?” Estelle asked, thinking of the night he’d rushed her to the hospital.

Yuri shook his head. “Nope. One of the things I miss the most.”

“I certainly appreciated that talent of yours,” Judy said.  “Do you remember I told you Yuri saved my life? When I was a teenager, I was in an accident while racing souped-up cars.  Luckily, Yuri was hanging out on Earth at the time and happened to see the crash.  I probably would have died if he hadn’t been there.”

Yuri shrugged and sipped his beer. “Anyway, that’s why I can’t get a proper license. I don’t legally exist. The system doesn’t know what to do with a guy who popped up out of nowhere.”

“And you spend your time beating up bad guys?” Rita asked.

Raven nodded. “Yuri’s basically Batman.”

“Why do people keep calling me Batman? He’s a millionaire. I work in a diner and live in a basement.”

“Why did you leave Heaven, though?” Estelle asked.

“Because I wanted to help people. Like when I helped you. Flynn showed up because Cumore is some weird inhuman bastard, but if he was just a run-of-the-mill murderer, angels wouldn’t have said a pip. I got tired of how useless we were and figured I could do more good working independently and helping people whenever I could.”

“And sometimes Zagi shows up and tries to recruit you to Satanism?” Rita asked.

“Something like that, yeah. He thinks we’re old friends because we used to spar together.”

“I still can’t believe Zagi was ever an angel,” Estelle said. If anyone had been born a demon, it was him.

“Yeah, he didn’t last in Heaven very long. When Lucifer split he was one of the first who volunteered to leave. Oh, hey, I actually like this next band.”

They stayed at the bar until Estelle started nodding off. It actually turned out to be a fun, relaxing evening once there were no demon assassins showing up. Raven dropped Rita and Estelle off in front of her apartment around midnight. Rita was spending the night rather than bus home at this hour.

“Boy,” Rita said once they were inside. “You sure know how to pick friends.”

 

* * *

 

It was a frosty Monday morning when Judy parked her bike behind the police station. Her fingers were stiff in her gloves and when she pulled her helmet off the sudden shock of cold caused her to burrow her face into her scarf. It was only going to get colder from here, though, so she powered through and walked toward the old red brick building. Inside, the heated air made her frozen thighs burn.

Raven stood by his desk talking to Yeager. “I don’t wanna be the one ta tell Whitehorse,” Raven was saying. When Judy reached them, Raven halted the conversation and grimaced. “Good mornin’, Judy darlin’.”

She frowned at the pair. “What’s going on?”

“We have a slight problem,” Yeager said. “Your mystery man has gone bye-bye.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean? Where did he go?”

“That’s the question,” Raven said. “Cell’s empty.”

“Did you check the security cameras?”

“Yup. Check it out.” Raven turned to his computer and pulled up a file. “We’ve been tryin’ ta figure this out since we arrived.”

He clicked play and Judy leaned over the desk. On the grainy, grey-scale screen, Cumore sat in the cell with his hands on his lap. Then he looked toward the door, and the screen fizzled into static. Raven scrubbed the player forward over about a minute of static, and when the screen returned to normal, the cell was empty. “That’s all there is,” he said. “Cell door’s still locked.”

“We searched the area but there’s no sign of forced entry,” Yeager said. “He just… poof.”

Judy stared at the paused screen with a frown. “Something happened when the screen shorted out. Someone must have tampered with the equipment to cover their escape.”

“Clearly. Look, it’s not just this one.” He pulled up a series of other videos. “All the cameras on the way from the cell to the back door short out one after another, and come back just as randomly.”

“Hm… do you suppose he had some kind of electromagnetic pulse that shorted out the video as he approached it?”

“That was my thinking,” Yeager said. “He clearly had outside help, because he had nothing of the sort on him when we booked him.”

“Who was on duty last night?” she asked.

“Harry,” Raven said with a slight frown.

Judy winced. Everyone knew the sarge had only given his grandson a job as a favour to his daughter. “And I suppose he didn’t see anything.”

“Ja, not a thing.”

Raven folded his hands behind his head and stretched. “We were just debatin’ who’s gonna tell the sarge. He just got in before you and I don’t think he knows yet.”

“If you two are too scared, I’ll do it.”

Yeager held out his hands toward Whitehorse’s office. “After you, meine Liebe.”

Judy knocked and then opened the door. “Good morning, sir.”

Whitehorse was busy shuffling things around on his desk and trying not to knock over a cup of coffee. “What do you need, Hermes?” he asked without looking up.

“Cumore escaped last night.”

He snapped his head up. With his white hair and beard, he could be said to resemble Santa Claus, but only in an alternate universe where Santa was a spirit of rage and vengeance who brought terror to the hearts of criminals. Whitehorse had been on the force since before Judy was born, and had the wear on his face to prove it. He had more arrests under his belt than there were jail cells in the city and according to rumour, the only reason he was off the street was that he’d been shot. The stories sometimes included as many as twelve bullets before he finally fell and got carried away in an ambulance, but no one had the guts to actually ask him about it. “He _what_?”

“All the security cameras shorted out one after the other on his way out. From what it looks like, he had outside help.”

“And Harry was the one on duty last night. Great.”

“He claims he didn’t see or hear anything. Whoever it is slipped in through the back, released Cumore, and then they snuck out just as quietly.”

Whitehorse made a fist on his desk. “That means whoever did it had a key. Either they robbed one of us, or we’ve got a snake in our ranks. I want this case to become top priority.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Another thing.” He pulled out a stack of papers and tossed them at her. “You ever see the guy in this picture before?”

Judy pulled it closer. She was looking at a printout from a security camera at a gas station. The time stamp said it had been taken last night around midnight. The only person in the picture was a stout man in a blood-red coat. He stood next to a similarly coloured motorcycle being filled with gas. “No. Was he involved in something?”

“Last night a couple youth gangs went at it. We can’t figure out what sparked the conflict, but the ones we managed to round up were equipped with foreign guns and they claimed some weird guy in red gave them out for free. Just so happens the gas station got a picture of that guy, about two kilometres from the scene. He paid for the gas with a credit card, which the machine accepted, but a few hours later it turns out no money was actually transferred and the card is registered under John Doe with the number 123456789.”

Judy frowned. “And the machine accepted it?”

“Yeah. It occurred to me that he might have some connection to our pal with the mysterious lack of a past, and now you tell me he escaped the same night this bastard turns up? That’s not a coincidence. There’s a connection here and I want to know what it is.”

“We’ll figure it out, sir.”

“Good. Now get on it.”

Judy left the office with a frown. Estelle wasn’t going to be happy to hear about this.

 

* * *

 

Estelle was in French class when her phone rang. They were busy writing a translation from a news article, and the jingle caught everyone’s attention.

“Estelle!” Madame looked up from her desk. “You know phones must remain off during school hours.” She held out her hand. “Bring it here, _s'il te plaît_. You can have it back after school.”

Cheeks as pink as her hair, she fished it out of her backpack. Before bringing it to the front, she checked the screen and frowned. “Um… excuse me, Madame, but it’s the police calling. It’s probably really important.”

“The police?” She frowned and her eyes darted to the fading bruises around Estelle’s neck. By now the whole school knew the story. She nodded. “Very well, step outside.”

Estelle hurried to the hall, trying to ignore the annoyed looks on her classmates’ faces. She already knew this was going down in their minds as another case of special treatment. In the hall, she leaned against a locker and answered the phone. “Hello, sorry to keep you-”

“Where are you?” The urgency in Judy’s voice scared her.

“Um, I’m at school. I was in the middle of class.”

“Good. Everything seems fine?”

“Yes. Is this very important? Only I’m not supposed to be on my phone during school hours.”

“I’m sorry to interrupt your class. Something’s happened. Cumore escaped.”

Estelle’s heart froze. “He - he what?”

“Sometime during the night, someone helped him escape. We have no idea where he is now, I’m worried he may try to target you again.”

Fear thudded through her. The only reason she’d managed to sleep well the past few nights was knowing that he was behind bars and couldn’t hurt her again. “You’re going to find him, right?”

“We’re doing the best we can. Until then, stay alert. Don’t go anywhere alone. Yuri is going to pick you up after school and take you to work.”

“Ok. Thank you.”

“One more thing. Have you ever seen a short, fat man riding a red motorcycle?”

“Um… I don’t think so. Why?”

“Last night he handed out free guns to some teenagers in a bad part of town and a few kids died. We think he has some connection to Cumore. If you see him, or Cumore, immediately call Yuri or Flynn.”

“If Cumore wants to murder me, shouldn’t I call 911?”

“If Cumore is some supernatural being, ordinary cops might not be able to stop him.”

“Good point.”

“Call me, too, but make the angels a priority. All right, that’s all I wanted to talk to you about. Sorry for interrupting your class.”

“It’s ok. I think a heads up that someone might be trying to murder me is a worthwhile interruption.”

“I’m going to call you school next and explain what’s going on. I can’t explain just how dangerous he might be, but they should know that one of their students might be in danger. I’ll send them his picture so they know to look out for him and keep him off school grounds.”

“Thank you. I hope you catch him soon.”

“We will, I promise. Now go back to class. Bye.”

“Bye.” Estelle crept back into class, trying not to disturb everyone.

Madame glanced up. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes.” It really wasn’t, though. Estelle tried her hardest to concentrate on the article in front of her, but it was difficult to focus on conjugating French verbs when her mind was wrapped up in worries about who was trying to murder her and why. She only finished half the assignment by the end of class, but when Madame saw her worried face, she patted her shoulder and said she could finish it as homework. Estelle muttered a quick, “ _Merci_ ,” and hurried to break.

 

* * *

 

Rita was appropriately alarmed about Cumore’s escape after Estelle told her at break. The school counsellor pulled Estelle out of history class to assure her they had been notified by the police and that she was safe at school. Estelle wasn’t sure how much security that could provide against a foe who wasn’t even human, but she thanked her anyway.

She spent the rest of history daydreaming about Cumore and the mystery man on the motorcycle. She felt like there were pieces she wasn’t putting together. While the teacher lectured about French colonial possessions in the seventeenth century, Estelle doodled in the margins of her notebook. Keeping her hand occupied with swirls and scribbles helped her mind focus on every little detail she knew about Cumore and the man in red. The car he drove, how he’d made her feel, how neither Heaven nor Hell knew who they were.

While the rest of the class was dutifully taking notes on the food shortages in the young colony, inspiration struck. It was hard to sit through the rest of class patiently, and when the bell rang she zipped out as fast as she could. Instead of going straight to the stairwell to meet Rita, she walked as quickly as possible without breaking the ‘no running in the halls’ rule. Within two minutes, she’d reached the school chapel.

It was always unlocked so that students could come in and pray whenever they wished. In practice, it was a nearly-always deserted location that occasionally got couples making out in shadowy corners. Estelle couldn’t figure out how they managed with the big stained glass depiction of Jesus watching them.

She wasn’t looking for a secluded lovers retreat. Estelle slid into a pew and found what she was looking for in the shelf on the back of the pew in front of her. The bible was bound in soft leather that bent as she skimmed through the tissue-paper-thin pages. Words blurred as she flipped all the way to the final book, and then she slowed down to scan for the section she was looking for. Her eyes landed on the passage at the beginning of chapter six.

_And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see._

_And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword._

_And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand._

_And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine._

She raised her head and placed her hands on the pages with a deep breath. War. Famine. Could that really be what this was about? The Horsemen of the Apocalypse? She swallowed her nerves. Angels and demons were one thing, but if this had something to do with the Apocalypse, it was so much bigger than she thought. She folded her hands over the book and closed her eyes.

_Flynn… I don’t know if this is going to work, but I’d really like to talk to you. Can you hear me? Um, I’m in my school’s chapel._

She opened her eyes and looked around, not sure what she was expected. Above her, glass Jesus tried to look reassuring but utterly failed. The airy, vaulted ceiling covered in wooden beams only succeeded in making her feel very small.

One of the tall, thin windows screeched as it was pushed open. Flynn climbed through the window, this time wearing a red sweater covered in prancing white reindeer. His head snapped around the room, verified there was no present threat, and then turned to her. “Is everything all right?”

She wanted to smile at him, but couldn’t summon the effort. “It… it really isn’t.”

Flynn sat next to her on the wooden bench. “Tell me about it.”

Estelle told him everything she knew about Cumore and the man in red, and he nodded solemnly. “That’s troubling. I’m glad to hear Yuri will be driving you today. Constable Judith is right; you shouldn’t go anywhere alone.”

“There’s something else, though. I have a theory about who these people are.”

She pushed the book toward him and his eyes skirted across the page. “I see… yes, that would make sense. I have reason to believe you’re right.” He didn’t mention what that reason was, but Estelle decided to trust him. If she couldn’t trust an angel, who could she?

“This is getting very dangerous, Estelle. It may be in your best interests to leave Zaphias.”

She closed the Bible and put it away. “Leave? Where would I go?”

“Somewhere far away. When I tell my superiors about this, they’ll be able to arrange to hide you. There are churches all over the world that would shelter you if an angel commanded it.”

Estelle considered this option. It wasn’t like she had any family here to worry about leaving behind, other than Rita. There was school, but she could always finish her last term later. But if she ran away, they would hide her from everything until it was safe to come out, and she might never find out what actually happened. Even worse, people she cared about might get hurt fighting her battles for her. Like it or not, forces more powerful than she could have ever imagined were interested in her, and she knew she would never be satisfied until she found out why. “No. I don’t want to run away. If the Horsemen want me dead, I want to help you find out why. I’m staying here and I’m going to see this through to the end.”

“Are you sure? It might be very dangerous.”

“I… well, it’s really scary. But I’m going to stay here.”

“If that is what you wish. Just… please be careful. The Horsemen may want you dead, but I very much wish to keep you alive.”

She smiled a little. “I’m rather interested in that myself.”

 


	7. Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Flynn said goodbye to Estelle at the door of her apartment. He trusted she’d be safe inside the brightly lit building with security guards, cameras, and locks, or at least as safe as she could be in Zaphias. He’d feel better camping out in her apartment and standing guard at all hours of the day, but he understood she needed some privacy. Flynn spread his wings and took off.

There still wasn’t any snow on the ground, but the weather had put aside any traces of heat and emptied the trees of leaves to prepare for it like an expectant parent. He soared over the red and white lights of traffic and above the glittering trees set up every now and then along broad boulevards. He really did love Christmas, but he had a destination besides a scenic view of Zaphias light shows. When he landed on a quiet street a few blocks from a dog park, he tried to flatten his hair. The frigid wind hadn’t done good things to it, and he didn’t have much tidiness to spare.

It was no use, and it didn’t matter, anyway. He walked up to a skinny brick house, and then detoured away from the front door to a narrow flight of cement steps at the side. There was a brass railing, but he could only imagine they’d be deadly once the ice hit, especially if a certain someone was too lazy to put salt down. He banged on the door when he reached the bottom.

A few seconds later, Yuri swung it open with a pita in one hand, the bottom half still in the wrapper from the restaurant. Yuri swallowed before saying, “Yo. What do you want?”

“I want to talk. May I come in?”

“Hey, I’m not an idiot. I know what the old man did to Sodom and Gomorrah for showing angels poor hospitality.”

“There was also the sex thing.”

“It was mostly hospitality though.”

“I suppose they were too busy having wild deviant sex to show their guests good manners.” Flynn entered the basement apartment and closed the door to keep out the chill. Yuri’s place was… nice, but Flynn was a bad judge considering the vast array of dwellings he’d seen during his time on this planet.

Yuri’s place was tidy, but he’d only give him that because he’d seen families in the thirteenth century live with their pigs. Clothes were scattered around the room, draped over chairs and piled on the couch. Dirty dishes filled the sink, while some hadn’t made it that far and still cluttered the coffee table. A pizza box stuck out of the recycling bin and a layer of dust covered the top of the TV. A pile of laundry in the corner moved, and Flynn jumped when he realized it was actually Yuri’s dog, Repede.

“Do you ever clean up in here?”

“When I feel like it. Sorry, is it not heavenly enough?”

Flynn frowned. “Reminds me more of the other place. Fitting for a demon.”

Yuri’s casual face snapped to anger and he snarled, “Don’t call me that.”

Flynn crossed his arms. “Why not? It’s what you are.”

“You know I have nothing to do with those guys.” He pointed his pita at Flynn like a sword.

“Any angel who turns away from the Lord is considered a demon. I didn’t write the definitions, Yuri.”

“Yeah, and it’s a pretty bigoted definition.”

“Maybe demons wouldn’t have such a bad name if they weren’t all evil.” He nodded slightly in Yuri’s direction. “Present company excluded.”

Yuri sat on the arm of his ratty couch and bit a hunk out of his pita. After swallowing, he said, “Oh, good, so at least I’m not _evil_.”

“But you did betray us. You betrayed _me_.” He still remembered the day Yuri left as vividly as if it were last week. They’d had an argument that turned into a sword fight which spilled out of the building and across the yard. They’d both said a lot of hateful words and Flynn wasn’t even sure he regretted half of them. He just couldn’t believe that after everything they’d been through together - after they’d fought side by side since before the first Egyptian figured out triangles were a cool shape for a building - Yuri would just _leave_.

Angels didn’t have ties of blood the way humans did - they didn’t even truly have blood. Flynn was a being of light and energy given form through God’s power, and the only thing that bound angels together was their duty and love of the Lord. When Yuri fell, he hadn’t just abandoned God. He’d turned his back on the closest thing he had to a family.

“Don’t give me that again,” Yuri said.

“You just don’t want to hear it because you know it’s true.”

“I didn’t betray the old man.” Yuri met Flynn’s glare with an equal one. “Either He betrayed us first, or He’s dead.”

Flynn physically flinched at those words and took a stride toward Yuri. “Don’t you dare say that!” Flynn started to raise his arm but fought down the urge.

Yuri sneered at him. “You just don’t want to hear it because you know it’s true.”

Flynn closed his eyes and shook his head. “I didn’t come here to argue about God.”

“Good, because showing up at my place and yelling at me about my religious choices is making you feel like a Jehovah’s Witness. What are you here for?” He finished off his pita, crumpled the paper wrapped into a ball, and tossed it at the garbage. It hit the wall and bounced to the floor. Yuri was clearly planning to leave it there, but a judgemental look from Flynn was enough to get him to roll his eyes and cross the room to clean it up.

“I wanted to talk about Estelle.”

Yuri tossed the paper. “What about?”

“Did she tell you what she discovered today?”

“About the Horsemen? Yeah. Pretty crazy, huh?”

“As of now, she only knows about Famine and War. I didn’t tell her about meeting Death because I thought it would frighten her.”

Yuri frowned. “Don’t you think she deserves to know?”

“Don’t you think she deserves to be able to relax? Telling her Death himself is watching her would terrify her.” Flynn shook his head. He didn’t like telling lies, but there were some things humans weren’t meant to know. Standard protocol was to keep humans as unaware of celestial goings-on as possible for their own comfort and safety.

“I guess so.”

“Do you have any idea what this is about?”

Yuri strolled back to his couch. “Why would I know?”

“Because Heaven doesn’t know anything. I thought maybe you’d heard something from the other side.”

Yuri glared at him. “Right, because I spend so much time hanging out in Hell, right?”

Flynn pinched the bridge of his nose. “No. Yuri, I know you aren’t a follower of Lucifer. But you also aren’t a follower of God and I thought you might have picked something up.”

Springs creaked as Yuri sat down. “I’d be mad at you, but actually I do know something.”

Flynn looked up with hope. “Yes?”

“Not much.” Yuri folded his arms and shrugged. “Zagi said something about trouble stirring and that he doesn’t know what it is, either. Whatever it is, Hell’s not the one instigating it.”

“I know Heaven isn’t either.” Flynn stepped past Yuri and sat on the rough fabric of the couch. “Could the Horsemen be acting independently? But they shouldn’t be active. They’re supposed to be sealed until-”

“Yes, Flynn, I know. The Lamb must open the seven seals on the scroll to unleash the Horsemen when the Apocalypse comes. I’ve read Revelation, too.”

Flynn glanced over at him, and the added wryly, “It’s actually Revelation six.”

Yuri turned his head to him and then punched his shoulder. “Revelation six verses one through eight.”

Flynn smirked and, keen to one-up him, quoted the original line, “ _Kaí eídon óte í_ _̱_ _noixen t_ _ó_ _arn_ _í_ _on m_ _í_ _an ek t_ _ó_ _̱_ _n ept_ _á_ _sfrag_ _í_ _do_ _̱_ _n, ka_ _í_ _í_ _̱_ _kousa en_ _ó_ _s ek t_ _ó_ _̱_ _n tess_ _á_ _ro_ _̱_ _n z_ _ó_ _̱_ _o_ _̱_ _n l_ _é_ _gontos o_ _̱_ _s fo_ _̱_ _n_ _í_ _̱_ _vront_ _í_ _̱_ _s,_ _É_ _rchou_.”

Yuri wrinkled his brow, and then shook his head and looked away with a frown.

Flynn’s smile fell. “You don’t understand ancient Greek anymore?”

“Nope.” He knocked the side of his head. “You know what they say about language - use it or lose it.”

He laughed it off, but Flynn could tell it bothered him and it bothered Flynn, too. “Which ones can you still understand?”

“The ones I encounter frequently. English, French, Chinese. That one’s been getting trickier, though. I need to hang out in Chinatown more often. I still have a pretty firm grounding in ancient Hebrew.”

Flynn stared ahead at their reflections in the dusty TV screen. “You’re turning human.”

“Gradually, yeah.”

Flynn had spent a long time being angry at Yuri for leaving. He couldn’t help but see it as a betrayal. God was their father; they were created to serve Him. Choosing to turn away from God was the ultimate sin. Flynn had been so angry for the past three years that he hadn’t spent much time considering what falling from Heaven fully entailed. Angels got their power God, demons from Satan, but the ones who went rouge and weren’t tied to either power source…. Yuri’s power was fading, and eventually he’d be indistinguishable from a mortal human. And that meant he would, one day, die. As angry as he was by Yuri’s fall, that didn’t wipe away the thousands of years of friendship they’d enjoyed before that.

“You know, we used to be friends,” Flynn said.

“I’m not the one who wanted to stop.”

“You are the one who left.”

“I cut my ties with Heaven but that doesn’t mean I wanted to cut ties with my friends there.”

Flynn leaned forward with a sigh. “It’s more complicated than that, Yuri.” Yuri always thought things should be straight forward. As far as he was concerned, they liked each other so they should be friends and it was as simple as that. Only, there was the problem that an angel could get in a lot of trouble for associating with a demon, which Yuri was, in the eyes of Heaven. There was the issue of lifespans, because Yuri was going to die in about a hundred years while Flynn would live until the end of days, barring a serious enough injury that he couldn’t recover fast enough. They had different goals, different values, and different religious beliefs. But… Flynn did enjoy hanging out with him. Yuri understood him better than anybody, and they could always make each other laugh.

Yuri had abandoned his post and the official position of the angels was that anyone who fell was an enemy. But, God forgave people. As a servant of Heaven, he should follow His example. It was like Niren said: if the Lord didn’t want him to make his own decisions, He wouldn’t have given him a mind with which to make them. “Yuri… I forgive you.”

“Gee, thanks. I wasn’t aware choosing my own path in life was something that needed to be forgiven, but ok.”

Flynn smothered a frustrated sigh. “Can’t you appreciate what a difficult position this puts me in? Maybe you stopped following the archangels’ orders, but I still do. I have a duty to Heaven and I’m not supposed to suffer a fallen angel to live.”

Yuri smirked. “I thought that was witches?”

“You know what I mean.”

“All right, all right. So, we’re cool?”

“I guess so. With the Horsemen on the loose and Estelle to worry about, I don’t want to waste my time nursing a grudge.”

“I’m good with that. You hungry?”

Angels were never hungry. They could eat if they wanted to, but it wasn’t a requirement. “Of course not.”

Yuri hopped up from the couch. “I thought needing food several times a day would be a pain, but it’s one of my favourite parts of turning human. Food is great. Come with me, I’m going to take a Repede for a walk and there’s this great kebab place near the park.”

“Didn’t you just eat?”

“So?”

Flynn shook his head with a slim smile and got to his feet. “All right, I’ll give it a try.”

* * *

 

Rita clicked through the TV guide. “Do you want to watch a movie about a serial killer snowman?”

Estelle looked up from her homework. “That sounds awful.”

“I’m sort of curious. I can’t imagine being threatened by something you can defeat with a hairdryer.”

“I don’t want to watch that, Rita.”

Rita sighed dramatically and kept searching. “There’s nothing to watch.”

“Then put a DVD in.” This always happened when they got together to do homework. Rita whizzed through hers in ten minutes while Estelle laboured over chemistry for an hour. Rita offered to let her copy the answers, but Estelle was determined to figure this out on her own. She wouldn’t be able to copy off Rita during the test.

“I don’t like any of your DVDs.” Rita turned off the TV and pulled out her iPhone to browse the internet instead.

Estelle went back to her homework. She was glad Rita’s parents let her spend the night so often. She’d known Rita’s parents for ages through church, and after Mom died they’d let her stay with them until she found an apartment of her own. She was certain they would have let her stay indefinitely if she asked, but Estelle didn’t want to impose on anyone. She had the resources to live on her own, so she ought to take it.

Estelle had almost finished her chemistry homework when Rita said, “Why does Famine get a pair of scales? That’s pretty lame. The others get a bow and a sword, or are Death incarnate, and he gets scales? What’s he gonna do, weigh you to death?”

Estelle looked up from the dining room table between the couch and the kitchen. “What?”

“Famine seems pretty boring compared to the others.”

“What are you looking at?”

“The Bible. I figured I should familiarize myself with this stuff.”

Estelle had explained the whole thing to Rita during lunch earlier today. Rita hadn’t said much, but had obviously been scared. “I think Famine is plenty scary on his own.”

Rita’s head shot up. “Yeah! I mean, sorry, of course he is. But the others get weapons and he gets a set of scales and that’s pretty lame. Famine’s a loser.”

Estelle forced a smile. “And he has terrible fashion sense, too.”

“He got his ass kicked by Yuri and Flynn, too. What kind of all-powerful Horseman gets his ass handed to him by a low-ranked angel and a guy who’s mostly human? I bet you have nothing to worry about from this guy.”

“I hope so.”

Rita was silent again for a little while as she read her phone. Estelle went back to her homework and finally figured out how to balance the last equation. She put it away and considered starting her history essay, but really didn’t have the motivation to do so tonight. Between her attempted murderer escaping jail and realizing she was targeted by the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, it had been a stressful day.

She closed her book and took a seat on the couch next to Rita. The pillow was so soft and cozy and the portrait of her mom seemed to be watching over her. With all this crazy stuff happening, she really wished Mom was here to help.

“Hey… Estelle?” Rita let her phone rest on her stomach. “With all this stuff going on… does that mean God exists?”

“Huh? Well… I guess so. Angels exist. Someone had to have created them.”

Rita frowned deeply. “You know, I’ve never really believed in God before. I guess I did when I was really little since my parents took me to church all the time, but I’d stopped believing by the time I was about ten. It just seems so illogical, you know? There are thousands of religions all over the world. Even if there is some kind of supernatural force behind the world, what are the chances that any one group of people has it right? There’s no proof for any of them either. You’re just supposed to go on faith, but that’s not the scientific method at all. It always seemed so illogical to me that people could stake their lives around a belief with no proof other than tradition and wishful thinking.”

They didn’t often talk about their religious beliefs, although Estelle had always known Rita was atheist. With her attitude and penchant for voicing her exasperations without thought, it was hard not to know while spending time with her at their Christian-oriented private school.

“But now,” Rita went on, “apparently angels _are_ real. Does this mean the Christian Bible is true? What about Jesus? But there are angels in Islam, too, as far as I know.  Maybe all the Abrahamic religions are partially right? Are all religions true and overlap each other? This raises so many questions and now I’m not sure what I believe anymore.”

“I feel the same way.”

“Science is easier. We don’t have all the answers, but we don’t expect to and we have the means to study it and try to find them. It’s not all… personal feelings and faith and stuff.”

“Religion would be a lot easier if you could prove it with science. Although, if you showed me a chemical equation that proved God was real, I’d have to take it on faith, too.”

“Agh, Estelle, do you still not get it? You just have to write down how many atoms of each element there are and-”

“Stop explaining!” She clapped her hands over her ears. “You’re saying the same thing over and over and it still doesn’t make sense.

“It’s really not that hard. I don’t know how else to explain it to you.”

“Yeah, well remembering the difference between there, their, and they’re isn’t that hard either and you still mix them up in your essays.”

Rita looked at her phone again. “Here, let me find you an animated thing about how to do it.” A few seconds later she growled in frustration. “Why won’t it connect?”

“Maybe the signal’s bad.”

She hopped off the couch. “I’m going to check outside.”

“It’s really not that big a deal.”

Rita was stubborn about chemistry, though, and marched out to the balcony. She didn’t close the door, either, and an icy breeze flowed into the apartment. Estelle rolled her eyes and followed her to pull it closed.

Rita leaned over the railing, holding her phone in the air. Estelle was about to warn her not to drop it when Rita looked down and then made a fist around the freezing metal railing. “Estelle,” she hissed. “Come here and look at my phone.”

“Huh?” It was freezing outside and her socks weren’t thick enough to protect from the cold cement of the balcony. “Bring it over here.”

“No, you need to come here and see something. Act casual.”

Scared now, Estelle slipped onto the balcony and ignored the chill seeping into her socks. She reached the railing and turned her eyes on Rita’s phone, and then Rita whispered, “Look down and to your right, but don’t make it obvious you’re looking.”

Keeping her head fixed on the phone, she shifted her eyes and her heart skipped a beat when she spotted a familiar blue head lurking in the shadows across the street. Parked just further down was his sleek black car. “Oh, no.”

“What do we do?” Rita asked.

“He must be trying to figure out how to get up here.” He might be an immortal harbinger of the Apocalypse, but he was still corporeal. As far as she knew, he didn’t have wings like Flynn or Zagi did. He’d been worried about the security cameras inside the bookshop and hadn’t broken out of jail until someone helped him, so he couldn’t walk through walls. Maybe he was waiting for someone else to come home and sneak in behind them before the door locked again. She didn’t know how he would know what apartment she was in, but he seemed to figure out where she worked and what route she took home, so she figured this wouldn’t be too much harder.

“I’m going to call Flynn,” Estelle whispered. She didn’t know why she was whispering, because there was no way Cumore could hear her from the 22nd floor, but it seemed appropriate. “Come inside and we’ll lock ourselves in. He’ll be here soon.”

“No, you go in. I’m going to stay here and keep an eye on him.”

“But…” Rita had already made up her mind, though, and Estelle knew better than to try to convince her now. “Ok. Make sure it looks like you’re still on your phone.”

Estelle hurried back into the warmth of the apartment, heart thumping. Even if she didn’t know about all this supernatural stuff, having a stalker who’d tried to kill her once already was the stuff of nightmares. She leaned against the wall by the door and closed her eyes. _Flynn, I need you, please come. Cumore is outside and I’m really scared._

It seemed to take forever for him to come. Estelle spent the entire wait leaning against the wall and hoping Cumore wouldn’t suddenly sprout wings, swoop up to the balcony, and snatch Rita away. When light bathed the balcony, she let out a sigh and reached for the door. Flynn reached it first. He was still wearing the reindeer sweater from earlier, and in his right hand he wielded a kebab half-filled with chunks of pork.

“Where is he?” Flynn demanded.

“On the street,” Rita snapped. “You flew right over him.” She peered over the railing and said, “He’s getting back into his car. I think you scared him off.”

Flynn leaned over the railing. “For now, at least. He may be looking for a new vantage point where we won’t be able to see him.”

Estelle shuddered and it had nothing to do with the open door. Flynn and Rita came inside and Flynn said, “Yuri is on his way as well. We were together when I heard your call. Is everything all right?”

“Yes,” Estelle said. “We were having a lovely evening until Rita spotted Cumore.”

“He was just standing there,” Rita said. “We think he was trying to sneak in.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it. Estelle, you should call the police and let them know he was in the area.”

“Good thinking!” She pulled out her phone while Flynn ate a few more chunks of meat. Estelle wondered how warm they could be after he’d flown through the freezing night with them. While she called Judy and explained what had just happened, Flynn stepped back to the balcony to watch the street.

“We’re on our way,” Judy said. “We’ll search the area. Stay in your apartment.”

“Ok. Thank you.” She put her phone away and said, “Judy and Raven are coming.”

“I don’t like this guy,” Rita said with her arms crossed and a surly expression. “You haven’t done anything to anyone. Who the hell does he think he is?”

“He’s Famine,” Estelle said.

Rita rolled her eyes. “Besides that.”

Flynn returned, accompanied by a blast of cold air. “He’s gone from the street below. I’m going to stay here for the rest of the night, just in case.”

“Ok.” As much as she didn’t want to need a babysitter, having Flynn around just in case Cumore came back put her at ease. “Thank you so much for coming.”

Flynn smiled. “It’s no problem. It’s my duty to protect you.”

Ten minutes later, Estelle’s phone rang again and Yuri said, “It’s me. Buzz me up?”

Estelle pressed the button and waited for Yuri to arrive. She started to get worried after five minutes, but then the door knocked and she let him in. Actually, first she let in a sleek dog with blue-grey fur.

“Hope you don’t mind,” Yuri said, stepping in behind him. “I didn’t want to leave him alone all night and I figured he could help keep guard.”

“Oh, I didn’t know you had a dog!” Estelle dropped to her knees, because if there was a pet within a twenty foot radius of her, she wanted to cuddle it. “What’s his name?”

“Repede.”

“Hello, Repede!” Estelle reached out to rub the sides of his neck, but Repede snorted and turned his head away. Estelle’s hands fell. “Oh… ok.”

“Sorry about that.” Yuri unclipped Repede’s leash and the dog walked away to examine the new location. “He’s not really a people-dog. He’s friendly enough - he’d never bite or anything like that - but he isn’t big on cuddles.”

Estelle got back to her feet as Rita said, “What kind of dog doesn’t like being pet?”

Yuri watched Repede sniff around the kitchen with a cocky grin. “A proud one. I took him in off the street a month or so after I got my own place. I don’t know where he came from, but he likes to make it clear to me that he lives with me because it’s comfortable, not because he needs me to feed him. I don’t think he minds the occasional scrap of fresh-cooked meat, though. But he’s tough, and if he senses a creep sneaking up on us, he’ll howl like a wolf.”

“I don’t think my neighbours would like that.” The apartment allowed pets, but given the average clientele at a place like this, most pets were of the cat or lap dog variety.

Yuri kicked his boots off into the coat closet and entered the apartment proper. “So what’s the deal with Cumore?” He pulled a rod out of his waist band and slapped it against his hand. It was the collapsed music stand from last week. Estelle supposed he’d hidden it in his pants on his way across the lobby to not arouse suspicion, but based on how long it took him to get up here, he had probably been stopped. A guy in cheap clothes, with lanky hair and a hulking dog, did not look like someone who belonged in a building with an average rent as high as this one.

Flynn explained in full while Estelle went back to sitting on the couch with Rita. After getting the scoop, Yuri paced by the sliding glass door with a scowl. “That bastard. I’m staying tonight, too.”

“I don’t really need that many people guarding me all night.”

“Do it for me, then. I won’t be able to sleep tonight if I’m at home wondering if Cumore is attacking you again.”

Estelle relented. “Ok, if you insist.”

Rita’s eyes, though, were on the metal rod Yuri rhythmically slapped against his palm. “What’s with the club? Why not get a gun, or at least a knife?”

Yuri paused and closed his grip around it. “Well, there’s no way for me to legally get a gun. Judy and Raven let me get away with a lot, but she said supporting illegal firearms dealing was pushing the limit. Besides, it’s too hard not to kill people with a knife. I’d rather beat them up and let Judy take them to jail. I don’t like killing people. I suppose that’s the angel in me.” Yuri shrugged and then threw his hand out. The second half of the stand whipped out with a swoosh. “Heaven is all about forgiveness and second-chances, but sometimes you have to beat someone over the head with a metal rod for them to realize they need a second chance.”

Rita snorted. “Good theory.”

“Here’s the plan,” Flynn said. “We’re all going to spend the night in here and make sure no one enters the apartment who isn’t supposed to. Yuri and I will keep watch during the night while you girls get some sleep because it’s a school night. Tomorrow morning, Yuri will drive you to school. Is that satisfactory?”

Estelle nodded. “Yes, that sounds like a wonderful plan. We can have a slumber party!”

Flynn looked at her in confusion while Yuri laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been invited to a slumber party before.”

Flynn just frowned. “We can’t have a party. It’s a school night.”

“We still have an hour to kill before I’m going to bed.” Estelle rose from the couch. “We should play a board game.”

While Estelle went to the closet, Rita said, “Which one are you going to pick? Oh no, I know which one it’s going to be. Don’t do it. Estelle put that box back. Estelle, no-”

Estelle came back with the box and a smile. “I love the Game of Life! The little peg people are so cute.”

Rita groaned. “It’s so cheesy though. Why do you always - no, stop, don’t give me that pouty face! Estelle, I hate it when you give me that pouty face! Fine, we’ll play your dumb game.”

Flynn ended up getting the most enjoyment out of it. Considering he would never get a job, own a house, or start a family in his own life, playing pretend in a board game made him very excited. Even though Estelle ended up winning, he finished with the biggest smile on his face. After putting the game away, Estelle and Rita got ready for bed.

“I’m sorry for dragging you into this,” Estelle said, staring at the ceiling of her dark bedroom.

Rita lay next to her, pressed against the wall. “It’s ok. I wouldn’t want you to have to deal with it alone.”

Rita closed her eyes, but Estelle kept staring at the ceiling. Into the dark room, she whispered, “I wish my mom was here.”

Rita’s eyes opened, but she was at a loss for words. Instead, her hand moved under the blanket and curled around Estelle’s. Estelle squeezed back and closed her eyes.

 

* * *

 

When Estelle glanced at the clock, it was just past 3am. Her throat was parched, but part of her brain knew she just wanted an excuse to make sure Flynn and Yuri were ok and still keeping guard. The thought of Cumore lurking around her home and waiting for the first sign of an opening to sneak in and strangle her made it hard to sleep.

Rita softly snored while Estelle slipped out of bed. Her fuzzy pink socks kept her feet warm, but even her fleece pyjamas covered in bouncing sheep couldn’t live up to the warmth of the blanket. In the living room, Yuri lay on the couch in darkness illuminated only by the glow of the TV. She heard shouting and gunshots, but the volume was low enough she hadn’t heard it from her room. Repede napped at his feet, and Flynn stood on the balcony, seemingly unperturbed by the cold.

Yuri looked up as she approached the kitchen. “Something wrong?”

“I’m thirsty.” She got a glass and filled it from the fridge. “What are you watching?”

Someone on the TV screamed and she heard the deep booms of missiles. “Christmas movie.”

Estelle tilted her head with a perplexed smile, and then sat on the couch to see for herself. On screen, a trio of grey tanks covered on snow bulldozed their way through a forest.

“ _Battle of the Bulge_ ,” Yuri explained. “Nazis launched an offensive in Belgium over Christmas in 1944.”

Estelle sipped her water. On screen, the war raged. She supposed that in the grand scale of things, she wasn’t having that bad a Christmas. She was unhappy, yes, but she was home, surrounded by friends, and not living in a war zone. It could be a lot worse.

“It’s not very accurate,” Yuri said. “The tanks are the wrong model and this whole bit with the American tanks sacrificing themselves is made up. It’s still a cool movie, though.”

“Are you a World War Two expert?”

“Not especially, but I witnessed the battle myself.”

It was easy to forget just how incredibly old Yuri was. Out on the balcony, Flynn could have looked like an ordinary young man, if not for the fact that he stood outside wearing nothing but a sweater when the temperature was around -10. “Do you ever miss being an angel?”

Yuri followed her gaze to Flynn and shrugged. “Parts of it. I miss being able to fly, and healing other people was pretty useful.”

“You can still heal yourself, at least.”

“Yeah, but that won’t last forever. It’s been slowing down. I’m getting weaker, too. Someday soon, I might have to actually work out to keep my strength up.”

“And you’re ok with living as a human? Even though it means you’re going to die one day?”

“I don’t really think about it, to be honest. I guess it’s kind of scary to think about dying, but running back to Heaven because I’m scared of being human isn’t my style. I doubt they’d take me back anyway, and I have no interest in holing up with the other guy.”

Estelle curled her legs up and held her glass against the fleecy chest. “It must have taken a lot of courage to leave Heaven. I still can’t decide where I want to go for university.”

“You’ll figure it out. You still have a few months.”

“Yeah…” She took another sip and watched Allied troops do battle with the Axis. It was so weird to think that the guy sitting next to her had witnessed this seventy year old battle in person. “If you don’t mind me asking, why did you leave Heaven?”

“Actually, it was only partly a choice. An angel’s power is fuelled by faith. Lose your faith, lose your power. It’s impossible to reach Heaven without wings, and wings are the first to go when your faith wavers. Flynn and I got in a big fight when I first told him I was thinking of leaving, and then I headed down to Earth to figure things out. After that, well, I couldn’t get my wings to work anymore. I’d stopped believing in God and my wings disappeared. After that, flying back to Heaven wasn’t really an option.”

Estelle frowned. “But you’re an angel. What do you mean you stopped believing? Don’t you factually know He exists?”

“Well… it’s not like I stopped believing He ever existed in the first place. The thing is, the majority of angels don’t interact with Him on a daily basis. We get our orders from the upper-ranked guys who claim they get instructions directly from God. But, I haven’t seen any evidence that God is still there giving orders since the Roman Empire was still a thing. Our direct superiors haven’t either. We just have to take it on faith that the big guns are still getting commands from Him. It didn’t used to be like this. In the old days, He was actively involved in the world and I saw Him regularly, but now… we’re supposed to take it on faith that He’s still there, just like humans, but that’s not good enough for me.” Yuri sighed and rubbed the back of Repede’s neck with his foot. Repede stirred, but didn’t open his eyes.

“What happened to Him?” Estelle asked.

“Who knows? Maybe He died. I like that better than to think He’s just dicking around and ignoring us, or abandoned us for some other world. Maybe the archangels don’t know He’s gone either. Maybe the orders they get are just their own ideas in a big echo chamber coming back to them.” Yuri shook his head and then looked back to the balcony again. “Flynn still believes. Honestly, I’m happy for him. Believing your father is still around and cares about you feels a lot better than thinking He’s dead. Even though I didn’t really know Him personally, He’s still the closest thing an angel has to a parent.”

“I think I understand how you feel. My dad died when I was still a baby. I never really knew him, but I’m sad that he’s gone. I wish he was around, even if there aren’t specific memories or emotions I feel toward him.”

Yuri nodded. “Right.”

Estelle sipped her water and thoughtfully stared at the screen. So, even angels didn’t actually _know_ God was real. She was back to having to take it on faith. It was nicer to believe that God was gone and that was why He hadn’t saved Mom, rather than thinking He could have but chose not to. However, that put her back into thinking of a world where there was no God but still a Satan, and demons, and Horsemen. She wasn’t sure which option she preferred, or if she even should think of it like that. You weren’t supposed to believe in God because you decided it was a better deal, it was supposed to be true love and belief from your heart. She could decide she wanted to believe in Him, but that wouldn’t automatically change the way she believed.

“Hey, you should get back to bed. You still have to get up for school tomorrow. Spoiler: the Allies win.”

“What about you? You’re mostly human now. Shouldn’t you sleep?”

“I’ve been napping on and off through the movie. Go on, before Flynn comes in and gives you a disappointed look.”

“Heh, ok. Thanks for talking to me, Yuri.”

“No need to thank me for that. We’ve got the Cumore problem covered, so sleep well.”

Rita was still sound asleep when Estelle slipped back under the covers beside her.


	8. White Christmas

On Tuesday morning, Madame asked if anyone had finished their assignment yet. Estelle raised her hand, because chemistry might be her nemesis but she was pretty good at French.

“Tres bien,” Madame said. “Could you be a dear and take these books to Monsieur Chang in the Junior school? He wanted to give some of his grade eights a more challenging text and I completely forgot to give them to him this morning.”

Estelle hurried to the front of the room. “Oui, Madame.” She took a stack of thin chapter books she remembered reading in grade nine and left the room. It was nice that she was good at French, at least. After struggling with chemistry last night, her continued failure to understand calculus, and the unique frustrations only offered by AP Economics, not to mention the overwhelming struggle with Cumore and how helpless she felt in the face of being targeted, having a couple of classes she excelled at kept her sane. Just one more term, she told herself as she stepped outside through the back door and across the stretch of grass between the Upper school and the Junior school. Snowflakes swirled through the sky but melted when they hit the ground. Estelle loved the weather like this; it made her feel like she was living in a snow globe, even if she did regret leaving her mittens in class.

On her way across the grass, a white car pulled up on the side of the road. Estelle hesitated when she saw it. There were a million white cars in the city, but most of them weren’t so sleek they looked like the cost an average person’s annual salary and most of them weren’t driven by gentlemen with white hair, travelling alone and parking next to a school. Estelle sped up as the man got out of the car and looked around, and started running when he turned toward the field. She slammed the door shut behind her and shuddered. Maybe she was imagining things. He could be a student’s father, maybe. Either way, she had barely gotten her shaking under control when she reached Monsieur Chang’s class and delivered the books.

She went back the way she had come, but before stepping outside, she peeked out the nearest window to check if he was still there. She’d feel pretty dumb raising an alarm over some guy delivering a kid’s forgotten lunch. The car was nowhere to be seen up or down the street and she didn’t see anyone on the lawn. Estelle let out a relieved sigh and kicked herself for overreacting.

The heavy door squeaked when she pushed it open, and it thudded back into place just as a hand gripped her arm. Estelle shrieked and instantly tried to yank away, but the man’s grip was too strong.

“Be quiet. I am not going to hurt you.” He was at least a head taller than her, with silvery hair reaching his shoulders and a sharp red suit.

“Let go of me!” Her mind flashed to Cumore and her heart threatened to escape her ribcage. A dull ache grew on her throat as she frantically tried to escape.

“I had no intention of harming you, but if you persist in making a scene I will have to silence you with force. Be quiet, girl!”

Estelle’s next shout cut off with a squeak. She pressed her back against the cold metal door and stubbornly put on a brave face. Despite herself, her voice slipped. “What do you w-want with me?”

“I’d like to talk to you.” He let go of her arm and stepped back. It was the illusion of freedom, but he stood close enough to make it clear he could grab her again if she tried to make a run for it. “My name is Alexei Dinoia, but you may know me by another name.”

She folded her arms for the feeling of protection, even if logically it wouldn’t do her any good. “You’re one of them, aren’t you?”

“By ‘them’ are you referring to my three companions?”

Estelle spotted his car just out of view of the window, gleaming white.

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. She took a shaky breath of crisp air as specks of white peppered the green grass. “Death, Famine, War, and you. You’re Conquest.”

“Very good.”

“Now, you need to leave. If I’m not back to class soon, people are going to come looking.”

“I do apologize for the rude introduction. It was so difficult to find a time to talk to you alone when you have those young men hanging around all the time.”

Good, so Flynn and Yuri’s presence were keeping the Horsemen away. “What do you want to talk about?”

“I’d like to speak with you about the reason my colleague is interested in you. You should hurry along back to class, but why don’t I meet you at lunch and we can discuss this in more detail?”

Estelle frowned. “You… want me to have lunch with you?”

“I have no wish to harm you. I merely wish to speak with you in private.”

She hesitated. This might be her only chance to find out why she was being targeted, but letting herself go alone with him might be suicidal. “Ok, but only if you let me bring a friend, just in case.”

“Very well. I will meet you in front of your school when your lunch period begins.”

He walked away and Estelle let out a frightened breath. She was very lucky it hadn’t been Cumore who came after her at school. She’d wasted time standing out here, though, and Madame was going to start wondering what was taking her. Estelle ran across the lawn and hurried back to class.

* * *

 

Estelle summoned Flynn during break. She and Rita sat in the chapel where they knew they would be alone, and waited for him to come in through the window. Today he sported a blue knitted sweater with a large snowman wearing a Santa hat on the front.

“What is the situation?”

Estelle had just asked him to come during her prayer, and realized she should have specified she wasn’t in immediate danger. “I want you to come to lunch with me today.”

Flynn faltered, and then wrinkled his brow in confusion. “You prayed to me for lunch?”

“I’m going to lunch with Conquest. I told him I’d bring a friend. He said he’s going to explain to me what’s going on.”

“You’re what?”

“That’s exactly what I said when she told me.” Rita crossed her arms on the pew and scowled.

Flynn marched across the room and rested his hand on the back of the pew in front of her. “When did you talk to Conquest?”

“Today I ran an errand for my French teacher and he confronted me outside. It was kind of scary but he didn’t hurt me and said he just wanted to talk.”

Flynn didn’t talk right away. Instead he stared at her, and the snowman on his chest looked a lot happier than he was. “You went outside, on your own, and then talked to Conquest and arranged a lunch date?”

“I saw him get out of the car but I didn’t know who it was and I thought maybe he was a parent or something. Then on my way back I thought he was gone so I didn’t worry about it, but he grabbed me as soon as I stepped outside.”

“Why didn’t you call for me the moment he confronted you?”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t think of it. I, um, sort of panicked.”

“You should have gone outside on your own in the first place! Why would your teacher let you do that?!”

His fist flew at the back of the pew and Estelle felt the thud shudder through the wood. She shrank toward Rita; the light building around Flynn reminded her more of an energy beam about to fire than a soothing sun. “I-”

“It could have been Cumore waiting for you. We told you not to go anywhere alone!” His wings spread and the light cast eerie shadows across his face.  For the first time, Estelle remembered that when the angel Gabriel appeared before the shepherds, they initially shrank away in terror at his visage. His voice rose so it filled the high ceiling of the chapel. “Be more careful!”

Two seconds later, he noticed how Rita and Estelle had scooted away from him and watched with terror, and his wings faded in an instant. His whole body relaxed and he quickly turned away. “I’m sorry,” he muttered.

Lesser angels took on human form, but they weren’t human. They weren’t even especially powerful humans. They were something otherworldly, with vast power beyond the understanding of mortals. Estelle couldn’t imagine how frightening it would be for a human to have an angel turn his wrath on them in earnest. “I’m sorry, too,” she said softly. “I wasn’t thinking.”

Flynn turned back to face them. “I shouldn’t have yelled. I was angry because I’m afraid something will hurt you, and angry at myself for not being there when you needed me.”

“I should have called you. I promise I will at the first sign of trouble from now on.”

Flynn took a seat next to her and leaned forward. “I’m sorry I scared you.”

“It’s ok. It’s good that you can be scary because that means anyone who comes after me might be scared of you, too.”

“Heh… let’s hope so. So what’s this about lunch?”

“Estelle agreed to go to lunch with this asshole.” Rita leaned around Estelle to look at Flynn. “Help me convince her not to go.”

“You can’t stop me.” She crossed her arms and stuck out her chin. “He’s the only one who might be able to tell me why all this is happening.”

“I don’t think I can stop you, can I?”

“No. If you won’t come with me, I’ll call Yuri.”

Flynn sighed. “Very well.”

“I didn’t tell him you were an angel. I said I’d bring a friend. I thought this way he’d underestimate you, just in case.” She smiled when she said that, because it made her feel very clever.

“That was a good idea. I’ll meet you here at the beginning of lunch and then we’ll walk out together. And, I promise I’ll only be scary to the bad guys.”

“Heh, ok.”

* * *

 

Estelle met Flynn as planned. Rita had given her a nervous look when they left Chemistry before lunch, but reluctantly set off to eat by herself while Estelle met Flynn at the chapel. “Were you waiting in here the entire time?” she asked.

Flynn looked up from the alter. He was sitting in the front row, gazing forward deep in thought. “Yes.”

“Didn’t you get bored?”

“No.” He stood. “I enjoy churches. I find them very relaxing, and rather homey. I’m not sure I approve of the naked baby angels I see in many of them, though.”

Estelle suddenly pictured Flynn naked and shooting a bow and arrow and covered her mouth as she laughed. “Oh, no, I don’t want to think of you like that.”

Flynn frowned. “I have to wonder where humans got the idea we’re so cute and cuddly.”

Flynn didn’t look like he was in a position to complain about being cuddly considering his current attire. On their way out of the chapel, she asked, “Where do you keep getting these sweaters, anyway?”

“This?” Flynn pulled it away from his chest and looked down at the knitted face. “There’s a huge store of human clothes from all over the world. It was more of a pain in the old days, when different cultures wore drastically different clothes. Thanks to globalization, we don’t have to worry about it as much. Jeans and a t-shirt will go unnoticed just about anywhere.”

“Or an ugly Christmas sweater?”

Flynn’s face fell. “Estelle, you… you think my clothes are ugly?”

“Ah, no! Not ugly, necessarily, but see those kind of sweaters are called ‘ugly Christmas sweaters’ no matter what you actually think of them.”

“Oh, I see. Good, because we have a huge stash of them. I actually rather like them. Although now I’m wondering if someone put them there as a joke.” He frowned. “You know, it might have been Yuri….”

Estelle giggled. “I can just imagine him putting them there and hoping someone wears them.”

They reached the front entrance and stepped outside. It had snowed for the past two hours, and a light dusting covered the steps. Estelle shivered and slipped her hands into her pockets. Alexei’s car was parked right in front, and he stood outside with his arms crossed.

“Ah, you decided to come. I’m glad.” He opened the passenger side door, but Estelle hesitated.

“This is my friend Flynn. I think I’ll sit in the back with him.”

Alexei shrugged and closed the door. “As you wish.”

Estelle and Flynn slid across the leather seats. Flynn’s knuckles were white as he folded them in his lap; his whole body was tense and ready to fight back at a second’s notice. Estelle was slightly calmer, but only just. She told herself that if Alexei wanted her dead, he could have easily done so this morning. After all, Death wanted her alive, so it wasn’t as simple as all four Horsemen wanting to kill her. They didn’t even know for sure what War wanted.

Alexei didn’t drive very far. They parked at a swanky restaurant Estelle used to visit with her mom. Inside, Flynn’s casual attire got some looks, but Alexei drove the sort of car and carried the sort of cash that made staff not mind so much what his guests were wearing. They sat at a booth with dark green leather seats and a polished wooden table. Estelle felt glad that she had brought Flynn and not Yuri, because Flynn at least knew how to blend in with this sort of crowd.

“Order anything you like,” Alexei said. “Money is no object.”

Estelle glanced over the menu. It was the sort of menu with very few offerings, a lot of white space, and an unadorned number next to the name in a small font. The prices were understated because if you had to check, you couldn’t afford it.

“Where do you get your money?” Flynn asked. “I understand that you and your comrades do not have any legal existence in the world.”

“That is correct.” Alexei set his menu down. “Things have been more difficult in the past few decades. Electronic records are such a hassle. My credit card is not, of course, a real credit card, but it will work just the same and no one will notice the difference until I am long gone.”

“That’s stealing,” Estelle protested, looking back down at the menu with a frown. She didn’t want to order food if they weren’t really going to pay for it.

“In the old days we were allotted physical money to spend that disappeared shortly after use, although the credit card system is quite convenient.”

He hadn’t addressed the ‘stealing’ aspect yet, but Flynn had already asked his next question before she could protest further.

“And who gives you this money?”

“God, I suppose. I don’t ask. It simply comes as part of the seal.”

“Seal…” Estelle said thoughtfully. “As in, the seven seals on the scroll?”

Alexei nodded. “The very same. The four of us have immense power, you see. However, we are prohibited from using that power or of having any noticeable effect on the world until the end of days. When the seal is released, we will be granted our full power and ride forth to bring about the Apocalypse. Until then, the seal keeps us out of worldly affairs. We have the resources to survive and live comfortably in the world, but that is all. I can used my money to book a first class airline seat, but donating it to a politician to further a political goal is off the table. We simply bide our time until the Apocalypse.”

From Estelle’s understanding, the Horsemen operated under a sort of trust fund just like her. God or… or whoever made the seals had left them with a certain amount of power and wealth, but they were only allowed so much and only for approved expenses until they got the lump sum on a pre-set date. That was something she could understand, at least. Except, “Why would it come from God, though? Why would God give power to an evil being?”

Both Flynn and Alexei looked at her as if she had asked a very dumb question, and she sank into the plush booth. Her shame was broken when a waiter with a bowtie came over and took their orders. Estelle ordered the cheapest thing she could find - a Monte Carlo sandwich - because she hated to think she was stealing. Once the waiter walked away, Alexei folded his hands on the table and turned his eyes on her.

“The Horsemen are not evil, child. You think Satan created us? We were created by God just like the angels. The Apocalypse has been in God’s plans from the beginning.”

“When?” she asked in a small voice. “If you guys are active, does that mean it’s coming soon?” Outside, snow drifted peacefully to the street. She couldn’t bear to think everything might go away soon.

“No,” Alexei said. “Hence the problem.”

Estelle cocked her head. “How is the Apocalypse not coming a problem?” She was almost too relieved to hear the end of the world wasn’t nigh to be worried about whatever the other problem was.

“The problem is that War, regrettably, seems to have grown bored. We have been waiting an exceedingly long time, and it seems his patience has worn out. He’s trying to unleash chaos even though our powers are still sealed.”

“You mean like the gang fight he instigated?” Estelle asked.

“That was a paltry disruption. Death has warned us that War plans to cause significant social upheaval and that his plans focus around you, Miss Heurassein.”

“Me? Why me?”

Alexei steeped his fingers. “That is the question. I was hoping you might have an idea why he might think he can use you to destroy the peace.”

“I don’t know why I would have anything to do with starting a war. Wouldn’t he be better off targeting the Prime Minister?”

“I believe you misunderstand. The name ‘War’ is… not entirely accurate. It is what he is typically referred to in English, but it does not properly encompass his role. War implies strategy and motivation. War is born of greed and ideology, with specific goals of acquiring territory and goods. It is about conquering your enemies, which falls under my domain. The man you refer to as War does not care for armies or conquering. He does not have goals he wishes to use war to accomplish. His role is, as state in the book of Revelation, to ‘take peace from the Earth’. He is chaos incarnate and desires only for people to slay one another, whether they’re on the same ‘side’ or not.”

“Ok…. Um, that doesn’t make my involvement any clearer. I just don’t see how I could cause so much chaos. I’m just a normal girl. I’m not connected to anyone important.”

“Hm… it is very curious.”

The conversation stopped short as the waiter returned with food. Estelle ate, but didn’t particularly enjoy it. It was hard to enjoy food while trying to figure how she was the key to causing a war.

After the waiter left, Flynn asked, “Why is Famine attempting to kill Estelle? Is this part of War’s plan?”

“No. If War is allowed to unleash chaos before the Apocalypse, it will weaken the seal. If the seal is weakened, it is likely that over time it will break entirely. We would find ourselves with our full powers, and yet no Apocalypse.”

Estelle stared at him, sandwich forgotten halfway to her mouth. “What would happen then?”

“We would be free to do whatever we want. Famine, Death and I agree that this is a bad thing. We must wait until the designated time to use our full power. War, given his nature, is not one to follow rules. He would likely unleash chaos on Earth. Angels would of course be sent to stop him, but it would probably put all plans for Judgement Day off the table. We must prevent this from happening.”

“I see,” Flynn said, nodding. “So Famine is attempting to kill Estelle before War can use her to start chaos.”

“Correct. I fear that perhaps it is her death that he will use to trigger his plans, and so keeping her alive is in our best interests.”

“Ok…” Estelle thought while chewing. “I’m glad that all four of you don’t want me dead at least.”

“Indeed.”

They ate the rest of lunch in awkward silence. Alexei didn’t seem to mind, but Estelle ate as quickly as she could so they could leave.

When Alexei had paid (and Estelle tried not to wince when the waiter handed back the credit card and said everything was in order) Estelle and Flynn were driven back to the school. Estelle checked her phone; she had about one minute before the bell rang.

“Thank you for agreeing to meet with me, Miss Heurassein. I will continue to investigate the matter. Can I assume you will bring your angel with you at every meeting?”

“Huh?”

Flynn shot his head at Alexei.

Alexei’s face remained impassive. “You are hardly dressed like a student. I assume you are her guardian.”

Flynn frowned for a fraction of a second, but then nodded. “I am.”

“You are doing an admirable job. Keep Famine away and I shall try to work out what War is planning. Good day.”

The bell rang as Alexei got in his car and drove away. Flynn crossed his arms. “I guess we weren’t as subtle as we thought.”

“It was worth a shot.” Estelle pulled out her phone and sent a quick text to Rita to let her know everything was ok. “Thank you for coming with me.”

“I’m just glad I wasn’t actually needed.”

“Do you think we can trust him?”

Flynn watched Alexei’s car turn a corner. “I’m not sure. I believe he’s telling the truth, but I wouldn’t say he’s on our side. The Horsemen are entirely neutral between Heaven and Hell. He may not want to hurt you at the moment, but don’t think he has your interests in heart. Just be careful.”

“Ok, thank you. I need to get to class now.”

“I’ll be nearby if you need me.”

“Thanks a lot, Flynn.” She waved goodbye and ran into the building.


	9. Sleep in Heavenly Peace

Yuri sat in his car in front of Estelle's school, watching snow drift onto his windshield. Stupid snow. When he fell from heaven, he should have settled somewhere farther south. It never snowed in heaven. He should use that as a pick-up line: 'Hey, baby, did you fall from Heaven? Because you look freezing and entirely disgruntled with the concept of snow.' It was sure to work.

He stuffed his cold hands under his armpits and considered starting his car to turn the heater on. That would be a waste of gas, though, and gas was expensive. It was bad enough he'd been driving more often in the past week than any month previously because he wanted to get Estelle to work as quickly and securely as possible. Maybe he should invest in a proper winter coat, too, but a good winter coat cost about two weeks' worth of groceries and for a cheaper coat he might as well stick to piling on sweatshirts under his leather jacket. His breath misted in his car and his toes were chilled. His only pair of shoes were just fine on dry sidewalk, but as soon as he stepped in more than an inch of snow they proved to be as leak-proof as the  _Titanic_. Additionally, only about fifty percent of his pants didn't have some sort of rip that let the cold in. Winter was not a good season to be poor.

The front doors opened and Estelle appeared. Yuri turned the car on and held his hands over the vents in relief. Estelle hopped into the car and the entire vehicle rocked as she shut the door.

"Hi! How are you?"

"Pretty good. Today's your day off, right?"

"Uh-huh. You can just drive me home."

"I could do that.  _Or_ , we could take advantage of your free afternoon and check out the Christmas market in the Distillery District."

Estelle's smile slipped. "Oh. Do you want to?"

"I've been meaning to check it out. You ever been?"

She looked at her knees. "I went with my mom one year."

"Well… would you mind going with me? I've always wanted to see what all the fuss is about but I don't have anyone to go with. I'd feel kind of silly going alone."

She turned her head with a smirk. "Christmas markets aren't masculine enough for you?"

"Ha, something like that." The theory Yuri was working with was that all of Estelle's memories of Christmas involved her mom. These either made her sad because of what happened last December, or sad because she'd never get that happiness with her mom again. The best way to make her not completely miserable all season, then, was the help her make new, happy memories to associate with Christmas. "So what do you say? Will you go with me, or will I have to be the weird grown man hanging around the children visiting Santa?"

"Hm, we wouldn't want that. You might get some weird looks."

"Exactly!"

"Ok, we can check it out. Do you mind going back to my place first so I can get changed?"

"Sure thing." The car had warmed up now, so Yuri was willing to take his hands away from the vents to grab the wheel. The wheel itself was still chilly, but he gripped it tight and hoped it warmed to his body temperature soon.

It was a slow drive to her apartment. The snow plough hadn't been through yet, so all the cars drove slowly and carefully on the slick layer of snow. So far there was only about an inch, but it had been lightly snowing since this morning and didn't look to be stopping soon. At every red light, he pulled his icy fingers away from the wheel and buried them under his arms for warmth.

"Do you have any gloves?" Estelle asked. She reached for her backpack and started digging. "I have some mittens you can wear."

"My gloves fell apart last March and I haven't gotten around to replacing them yet. Don't worry about it." What actually happened was that he attacked a man trying to an assault a woman heading to her car around midnight. The woman was fine, the man had been taken away by the police with some lumps on his head, and the only casualty had been the gloves slashed open by the bastard's knife. Yuri's hands healed from the slash quickly, but his gloves hadn't been so lucky.

At her apartment, he waited in the car as she ran up. He considered going up just to sneer at the man in the suit who would dare stop him when he was accompanied by Estelle, but he didn't want to pay for parking so stayed with the car. It took about ten minutes for Estelle to return. She now wore jeans and a royal blue pea coat, with a matching hat, mitten, and scarf set. In her hands was a pair of brown wool mittens.

"Here." She handed them to Yuri. "You can keep these."

Yuri held up his hand. "Whoa, no, that's ok. You keep your mittens. They're not that expensive - it's not like I couldn't afford them. I just haven't gotten around to buying any."

"No, take them. I got them as a cheap Secret Santa present a couple of years ago but they're too big for me. I never wear them. You'd be doing me a favour to get them out of my closet."

Pride told Yuri to refuse, but cold led his hands to reach for them without input from his brain. "If you insist." Damn, they were warm. There was a layer of fleece on the inside that made them a lot warmer than his old gloves had been. The wool seemed like high-quality, too. These had been a "cheap" Secret Santa gift? God damn rich people.

It was a short drive to the Distillery District, but Yuri could actually feel his fingers when they arrived. They left the car in the parking lot and then headed into the historic district. Once upon a time this area of town had been a huge whiskey distillery, but now the old brick industrial buildings had been converted into shops. For December, little wooden huts lined the cobbled pedestrian-only roads and every tree was wrapped with lights.

"Oh, look," Estelle pointed at a sign, "you can get a picture with Santa for your pet. You should have brought Repede."

"Uh… yeah. That would go over well." A minute later, they'd walked far enough into the market to see the alleged pet-loving Santa, and stopped outside the cheap white fence erected to form a line. A woman at the front was trying to get a Pomeranian in an elf hat to sit still on Santa's lap. Yuri had a mental image of trying to put such a hat on Repede's head and decided that if he did it while wearing gloves, they'd end up more ripped than his old pair.

"I don't think that dog wants to be there," Estelle said.

"I don't get it. Why are people so excited to take a picture with a guy in a costume?"

"I always got my picture with Santa when I was little." Estelle rested her purple-mittened hands on the fence and smiled. "It wasn't about the picture so much as a chance to tell Santa what you wanted for Christmas."

"Do little kids actually believe the guy in the suit is Santa?" Yuri had spent thousands of years watching humanity and three years living it, but he'd come into the world in his current form so there was a lot he didn't understand about childhood.

Estelle tilted her head. "You know… I don't remember. I think I believed when I was really little, but when I got older I thought maybe he was like… an ambassador for Santa. Not the  _real_  Santa, but he'd get my message back."

"And the dog probably thinks he's just some weirdo who smells bad."

"Probably. Poor thing."

They turned away from the Santa and walked past a few wooden vendor huts selling food. A lot of them had fancy wooden signs with vaguely German shop names. Estelle tried and failed to pronounce a few of them. They stopped in front of a booth selling cutesy angel figurines and tree ornaments. The owner was busy talking to an elderly couple, who seemed to be arguing over whether a smiling angel holding a heart-shaped sign saying 'love' would or would not be the perfect addition to their home.

"How do you like these?" Estelle picked up a stuffed angel with a huge smiley face, yarn hair, and a wonky halo held up with wire. "This one looks just like you."

Yuri raised his eyebrows. "I don't think so."

"Give it to Flynn, then. He's more of an angel now, anyway."

Yuri imagined Flynn's face upon being given such a gift and couldn't help but chuckle. "That might actually be a good idea. Knowing him, though, he'd legitimately like it and not be embarrassed at being associated with such a thing at all."

"That's true. He does seem to earnestly like those Christmas sweaters."

"He's always been bad at fashion. He's comfortable in a standard angel robe, but once you ask him to blend in with the humans in casual dress he has no idea what to do. Just be thankful we're past the days of tights and feathers. Back when feathers in hats were a popular fashion statement, he thought the more feathers the better. It looked like his head had been attacked by a particularly aggressive chicken."

Estelle covered her mouth as he giggled. "I wish I'd seen that." She put the angel back on the shelf and stepped away from the booth. Before leaving, she looked up at the sign and then tried to pronounce the name of the shop. "Why… Why natch… sen - gel?"

" _Weihnachtsengel_ ," Yuri said effortlessly. He was pleased to automatically be able to say, "Mean's 'Christmas angels'." Maybe his language abilities weren't completely gone.

"You speak German?" she asked as they walked away.

"Angels can speak any human language. I'm gradually losing it, though. I decided to settle in an English-speaking country because I figured once I lost it all and was left with just the one I end up speaking every day, English would be the most useful internationally."

" _Parles-tu francais?_ "

" _Oui!_ "

Estelle smiled. "Perfect, you can help me study for my French final."

"Hold on, I didn't agree to any studying. School's not really my thing."

The strolled along the road until they reached the large square with a Christmas tree. It was at least two stories high and had huge red balls the size of Yuri's head. Estelle bought two cups of warm apple cider (Yuri reluctantly let her pay) and a pair of pretzels and they sat down to enjoy the snack. As they watched, the square gradually filled with people as the sun went down. The snow kept falling, but they'd found a bench protected by an overhang of a building so managed to avoid the worst of it. Even still, Yuri was forced to pull up the hood of the sweatshirt under his jacket to keep his ears from freezing off.

They wandered the market until the sky was dark and the lights in the trees made the snow glow. They explored the boutiques in the old brick buildings and took turns trying on increasingly ridiculous hats in a pretentious shop. Flynn would probably have liked them. Yuri drew stick figures in the snow while Estelle watched performers singing Christmas carols near the tree, and by the end of the night, Estelle was smiling and Yuri called the job well done.

On their way back to the car, they stopped at a booth to buy a pair of sausages in buns. Estelle fished coins out of her wallet while Yuri held the food and looked around. When his eyes passed over a crowd heading toward the tree, he saw him.

Cumore stood next the corner of a building, with a narrow alley behind him. Yuri met his eyes, and Cumore smiled at him.

Options rushed through his head. Stay here and fight, or run? Yuri had to step backward as a child ran past and nearly crashed into him. He couldn't fight here - not only was he weaponless, there were too many people around. Kids could get hurt. He could hardly drop Estelle off at her apartment and leave, or Cumore would find a way in and Estelle would be dead by morning. She could call Flynn again, and he and Flynn could stake out the apartment for another night, but he'd bet his car Cumore would be back again tomorrow night. Estelle was going to need a constant bodyguard, and for how long? Cumore wasn't going to die of old age, and just because things were stirring now didn't mean War's plan would be soon. To immortals, a century could be considered a short wait.

Estelle might have to put up with Cumore stalking her for  _years_ , and there was nothing the police could do about it. They could try to lock him up but he'd just escape again, and Yuri didn't even know if they could send a man to prison who didn't legally exist. Neither Heaven nor Hell would take action against a Horseman, because they were part of God's plan for the Apocalypse and Satan would hardly be interested in helping a human girl. Nobody could or would do anything to permanently protect Estelle from Cumore. Nobody except him.

Estelle left the booth and Yuri led the way back to his car. There was no point scaring her by letting her know who was here. "Hey, do you want to come back to my place tonight?"

"Hm? Why?"

"I thought we could watch a movie or something. I promise not to keep you up too late for school tomorrow."

"Um… ok. I'd like to see where you live."

"Compared to your place, it really isn't much."

When they reached the car, Yuri looked back and saw a black-clothed figure casually strolling through the parking lot. Yuri didn't have to guess to know they'd be followed. He could try to lose Cumore in the traffic, but the bastard had found Estelle here so he probably wouldn't have trouble finding Yuri's place.

He put on a relaxed smile as he got into the car. "You can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch if you want." He pulled out of the parking lot and onto the street.

"Oh, no, I couldn't take your bed!"

"I really don't mind." He checked the rear view mirror. Yep, there was the black car, a few cars behind them. He could try speeding and hope police came after him and saw Cumore, but Cumore would probably disappear at the first sign of police while Yuri would be left with a ticket and much worse for still not having insurance on his car. Honestly, Yuri wasn't even sure if anyone  _would_  insure his car. It was probably the same principle as why 90 year olds with bad hips couldn't get insurance either.

"It's ok, really, I don't mind the couch. Besides, I bet your bed is covered in dog hair."

Yuri frowned. "Only a  _little_  bit." He didn't know how Repede's fur got everywhere. Repede wasn't an especially hairy dog and was well behaved, but somehow it still ended up on counters, in the bathroom, on his clothes, and, yes, on his bed. "Fine, the couch is comfy, too." Cumore wouldn't make a move before they got home, would he? Yuri had the sudden thought of how disastrous it would be for them if Cumore slammed the accelerator and smashed into their car. He and Estele might be killed in a bad enough crash, while a Horsemen would probably walk away with a few minor injuries. At one time Yuri would have been able to heal from such wounds, but that was beyond his abilities now.

To lighten the mood, when they were stopped at the next light he reached over and opened the glove compartment and said, "Go ahead and pick a cassette."

Estelle rustled through the chaotic compartment. "Wow, Yuri, your taste in music sure is… eclectic." In her right hand she held a Judas Priest album, and in left was a tape of Johann Sebastian Bach. She put them both back and next she pulled out The Rolling Stones and Louis Armstrong. "Is there a pattern in here that I'm not seeing?"

"What? I like music."

She held up a tape. "You listen to Mozart?"

"Sure. Some of his operas are great. I dragged Flynn to one in Vienna one time. What are you looking at me like that for?"

"It's just hard to imagine you going to the opera."

"Imagine spending centuries listening to harps and chanting monks and peasant lyres and then you'll understand my appreciation for orchestras."

Yuri smiled and chatted with Estelle all the way home, carefully making sure his checking the mirrors could be passed off as checking for cars while lane changing. When he pulled into the driveway, Estelle was still smiling and relaxed. He'd seen the black car park just around the corner.

"This is your house?" Estelle asked as she got out of the car. "It's very nice." She was looking up at the narrow gabled roof and brick walls.

"Sort of. I live over here." He led her around the side of the house to the basement entrance. "The lady who lives here is pretty nice. She's been here since before it was impossible for anyone but millionaires to buy a house this close to downtown." Yuri unlocked his door and led Estelle into the significantly less impressive basement apartment. "She rents the basement out pretty cheap. It's a bit cold in the winter but it's not so bad."

"Oh, I see. This is very nice."

'Nice' wasn't the word Yuri would use for it. The white walls were plastered with posters from bands and movies but half of them were starting to fall and he hadn't fixed them yet, the couch leaked stuffing, he still hadn't gotten to those dishes in the sink, and the door to the bedroom hung open to reveal a pile of laundry that hadn't made it to the basket. None of these things particularly bothered him, but after seeing Estelle's immaculate apartment that cost thousands of dollars rent per month, he figured she was using 'nice' to be polite.

"So, what movie did you want to watch?"

Yuri got on his knees next to the TV, where his stack of DVDs sat on the floor. Estelle pulled her feet up on the couch while Yuri shuffled through them. "A Christmas movie. Ah, here it is." Yuri held out the DVD triumphantly. "Have you ever seen  _Die Hard_?"

"No."

"What!? I've lived on Earth for three years and even I've seen it."

Estelle frowned at the DVD cover showing a dirty man with a gun and a burning building in the background. "It doesn't look like a Christmas movie."

"It is. There's Christmas music and everything. Trust me."

"If you say so."

Yuri put the movie on and pressed play. "I need to take Repede out before bed. Go ahead and start without me."

"Are you sure? I don't mind waiting."

"Nah, I've seen it a dozen times." The 20th Century Fox logo trumpeted as he walked to his room. It was dim, because one of the two bulbs on the overhead light had burnt out and he hadn't bothered replacing it yet. Yuri knelt in front of his dresser and pulled the bottom drawer open. He dug through old jeans too ripped to wear anymore and a pair of sweatpants he'd forgotten he had. In the very back, his hand landed on soft fabric wound around something long and stiff. Yuri pulled it out and then rested it on the edge of the drawer as he unwrapped it.

When the cloth fell away, the dim light gleamed on the bronze edge of a sword. When Yuri's hand fell on the shining metal, his fingers tingled for a moment. It had been three years since he'd held this blade, but it was still as sharp as the day he left Heaven, and as sharp as the day he'd been given it so many thousands of years ago.

These days, crafting an ultimate blade out of bronze would be laughable. It would have been laughable as far back as 1200 BC when iron became king, but the swords of angels were perfect weapons, and such a blade wouldn't be usurped by the metallurgy of humans. He stood, sword in hand. The hilt was stout, with a disc-shaped pommel, and the gleaming blade widened near the end before coming back to a point. A wound inflicted on an angel with such a blade wouldn't immediately heal, making them the only weapon that was any use in a fight with demons. If anything could keep Cumore down, it was this.

Yuri wrapped the blade in his coat and then grabbed the spare blanket off the bed. In the living room, he tossed the blanket on Estelle. She jolted and then scrambled to pull it off her head. When she looked back at him, her tousled hair covered her eyes. "Do you want me to come with you?"

Yuri clipped the leash on Repede's collar. "Nah, watch the movie. I just need to take him out for a pee."

He stepped outside and pulled out the sword. Then he put on his jacket and marched up the steps. Hopefully no one else would come outside, because he didn't think most people in Zaphias were used to seeing people walking a dog while armed with Bronze Age weaponry.

Still-falling snow seemed to muffle the dark street. The sounds were Repede's pants and the powdery snow compressing under his feet. With every breath the air burned his lungs, but that was ok; it made him feel alive.

Yuri spotted Cumore at the end of the block. He froze when he saw Yuri. The bastard was hoping to sneak in and catch them unaware, or maybe break in after they went to bed and kill Estelle before Yuri woke up. He wasn't ready for an opponent armed to fight back, and ran.

"Dammit," Yuri breathed, and then unclipped Repede's leash. "Get him!" He tucked the leash in his pocket and ran. Yuri struggled to catch up, because his dying shoes had no traction and he kept slipping on the snow. Cumore ran across the road just as a car sped by. Repede was forced to stop short and the driver blared his horn as he past. The back wheels kicked snow in Yuri's face as he ran forward.

He and Repede raced after Cumore, who was now sprinting toward the park. Yuri and Repede dashed on the road, where at least passing cars had cleared the snow. Running across wet asphalt in trashy shoes with a sword in hand was not a smart idea, but Yuri was too focused on Cumore to worry about safety. He ran across the road and onto the snow-covered grass. Cumore was running around a tree now, but Repede was faster. He lightly sprinted across the snow and Cumore yelped as Repede snarled and tackled him. Yuri ran forward while Repede barked in his face.

"Repede! Stop!" Repede backed away, a growl still vibrating through his throat. Cumore crawled backward away from Yuri, his clothes ripped from Repede's claws. Yuri stalked across the snow toward him. His footsteps crunched and every long breath left a puff of fog in front of his face. The park was empty, but just across the street, colourful lights decorated the houses. Yuri wished he could be inside one of those houses and enjoying a nice, normal Christmas, but he had a job to do.

"G-get back," Cumore stammered, cowering in the snow.

Yuri stopped in front of him and held out his sword. Flecks of snow gathered on the cold metal. Famine was possibly his least favourite of the Horsemen. At least War and Conquest just killed people, and usually soldiers. Conquest didn't even have to kill anyone if his opponents surrendered. Death was a neutral force, that could be seen as both good or evil depending on the circumstance.

But Famine? That was just cruel. You stab someone and they'll die within hours at most. Famine was much slower than that. Children would wither away in misery, for months, before succumbing. Yuri had seen his share of famines over the years, especially in the days before industrialized agriculture. He had never thought humans could be so  _thin_. And this man cowering in front of him was the embodiment of all that pain. Famine didn't even have to get his hands dirty like War and Conquest did - he just stood back and watched impoverished children oh-so-slowly succumb to weakness. Famine was a coward. He picked off the weak and fled as soon as someone stepped up to face him directly.

"Don't hurt me!"

"Is that what Estelle said when you nearly strangled her to death?"

"The girl has to die! It's for the greater good."

"Shut it!" Still, Yuri hesitated. The last time he had taken a life had been a demon causing havoc in Madrid in the sixteenth century, and he hadn't enjoyed it then. If he didn't do it now, though Estelle might never live in peace. Maybe Famine was part of God's plan for Judgement Day, but Yuri wasn't keen on the idea of the Apocalypse anyway.

A handful of snow was thrown at his face. Yuri blinked and wiped his eyes as Repede barked and leapt forward. Yuri sprang to action and snatched Cumore's arm before he could run away again. He yanked Cumore around and then forced his sword forward.

Cumore gasped as his eyes went wide. Yuri panted as he pulled the blood-slicked blade from Cumore's stomach. He could feel the heat from the blood on his hands and it made him sick. Cumore clasped his hands over the hole in his stomach and dropped to his knees. Yuri was about to land another blow to finish him off quickly, but then Cumore's body began to fade. Yuri stepped back and watched Cumore fade out of existence, leaving pristine white snow behind. There wasn't even a drop of blood on the sword.

Yuri wiped a trickle of sweat from his brow before it could get too cold. Repede whined, and Yuri reached out with stiff fingers to scratch behind his ears. "He's not going to hurt anyone anymore." Yuri leaned against a tree and pulled out his phone. Snow melted through his shoes and his fingers were nearly numb as he scrolled through his contact list.

"Yes?" Judy said.

"It's me."

"I know, Yuri, I have caller ID. Is something wrong?"

His hands were shaking but he passed that off as the cold. "You don't have to worry about Cumore any longer." His voice was stiffer than his fingers.

Judy went silent for a moment. Then: "Yuri… what did you do?"

"I took care of it."

Yuri heard her breathe for a few seconds before saying, "Do you need help hiding the body? I can do my best to destroy evidence."

"No. He didn't leave a body. He just vanished."

"Good. Then he'll never be reported dead and we don't have to worry about this call being found. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. He didn't fight back. He's a coward."

"God." She sighed again. "Yuri, you know I'm only letting you get away with this because you and Cumore are both… not really my jurisdiction. You're not going to make a habit of this, are you? Good intentions or no, if you start murdering humans I'm going to have to arrest you."

"No. This was a special case. I just wanted you to know you can stop wasting time trying to find him."

"All right. Is Estelle safe?"

"She's at my place."

"Good. I'll see you later."

"Yeah. See you." He slipped the phone back in his pocket and then put the leash back on Repede. They walked home in silence.

When Yuri arrived at home, he hung Repede's leash on the hook by the door and hid the sword in his jacket again. Estelle was curled up on the couch while a man at a reception desk got shot.

"Did you have a good walk?"

"Yeah." Yuri returned to his room and wrapped the blade up again. Hopefully he wouldn't have to use it again for a long time. He returned to the living room and sat on the couch next to Estelle. "So, what do you think?"

"It doesn't seem especially Christmas-y."

"Explosions are Christmas-y."

"They're really not."

"Red is a Christmas colour and blood is red."

Estelle's leg escaped the blanket to kick him. They watched the movie in silence for a minute or so, and then Estelle asked, "Are you feeling ok, Yuri?"

"Huh?" He looked over with a smile. "Yeah, why?"

"I don't know, you just seem like you've got your mind on something."

"Yeah, I'm wondering how you can not think this is the greatest Christmas movie ever made."

She giggled. "Sure, ok."


	10. O Come, All Ye Faithful

Flynn sat next to Estelle on the bus. She'd asked him to come with her today even though Yuri usually picked her up from school. He didn't know why, but if she wanted him, then he'd be there.

They got off downtown and walked the short distance to the bank. "What exactly is your meeting about?" Flynn asked.

"I'm not entirely sure. He just said we needed to go over some paperwork for the money transfer in two weeks."

"Hopefully there are no problems. How much money are you getting?"

Estelle hesitated and glanced around the snowy street. There were a few people in business suits a few steps ahead of them.

"Sorry. You don't have to tell me. It's private." More likely she didn't want to announce it with strangers around.

"It's got eight digits," she mumbled.

Flynn didn't know why he bothered asking because he wasn't actually sure what was considered 'a lot of money' in this time period and in this country. There was a time when one dollar was a week's pay and that was considered good, and he hardly had the time to keep up to tabs with inflation rates all over the world. Based on her reaction, he guessed that somewhere between ten and ninety-nine million was considered fairly wealthy.

"Do you have any plans for it?" They reached the bank and Flynn opened the glass door for her.

"University, first of all. Then I'd like to travel, maybe. After that… I don't know. I think I'll just live comfortably, give a lot to charity, that sort of thing. I was thinking of giving some to Yuri, if he'd take it. I'm sure he could use the help to pay his bills."

"I doubt it. Yuri isn't a fan of handouts."

"Hm… maybe I can tell him it's payment for being such a good bodyguard. Can you wait down here for me? There isn't any sort of waiting area upstairs."

"All right. I'm just a prayer away if you need me." Estelle went to the elevators and Flynn sat on a leather bench in the lobby. He was out of place, he realized as he looked around the building. All around him were men and women in business suits and skirts, while he sat around in khakis and a green sweater with alternating bands of Christmas trees and snowflakes. By now he'd realized that this wasn't an outfit typically considered fashionable, but he found them comfy and didn't really care what humans thought of his fashion.

Flynn had been twiddling his thumbs for about five minutes when she spotted someone else who didn't quite fit in. A portly man walked through the glass doors and spoke to the receptionist. A few seconds later, he walked away and sat on a bench, waiting. He wore a thick coat the colour of fresh blood and had a thick scar over his right eye. Flynn hadn't seen Judy's security camera screenshot, but he had a good idea who this might be.

Flynn rose slowly. He could summon his blade to his hand at a moment's notice, but there was no need to cause a commotion in a crowded public place. Making himself look like a nobody university student hanging out while waiting for a parent, he wandered across the lobby, idly examining potted plants along the way. Finally, he sank onto the bench about a foot away from the man. "Cold weather today, eh?"

The man turned his round, grey-haired head to Flynn. "Piss off, kid."

"I think I know I friend of yours. Blue hair, hungry a lot? Or am I mistaking you with someone else?"

His eyes narrowed, and then he let out a deep chuckle that sounded more like a bark. "So, which side are you on, lad?"

"The one with a better view."

"Figures. The other kind tend to have better fashion sense."

"Considering they have no sense of morality, I can handle letting them win that one."

"So, what do you want?" War asked.

"I know why you're here."

"You do, do you? And what's that?"

Flynn took a breath to answer, but then paused because he realized he didn't actually know exactly what War wanted. "I know it has something to do with Estelle."

"That's pretty self-centred of you. You just assume that I'm here because of you and your little mission?"

"Am I supposed to assume it's a coincidence you just happened to have business in this bank the same day Estelle did? What could War possibly have to do in a bank? I know your finances are imaginary."

War smirked, which made his scarred eye scrunch menacingly. "Well, aren't you a clever little angel. What are you gonna do about it? Play your harp at me?"

"I don't want to start a fight in a public space, but I will if I have to. If you make one move toward Estelle, I'll have my sword out and in your gut before you can blink."

War chuckled again. "You got spunk, Cupid. Much as I hate to admit it, I'm not keen on starting anything today, either. Conquest and Death are already on my case about the little bit of fun I had the other night."

"You mean when you gave out weapons to minors and there were several teenage casualties?"

War slapped his back so hard Flynn jolted forward with a cough. "That's the one! Not worth the trouble to get into another big fight just yet."

"So what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to ask your gal a question."

Flynn raised a skeptical eyebrow. "Oh? What could you possibly want to ask her?"

"I want to know if she knows what happened to Famine. He's been hanging around her lately so I figured she mighta witnessed whatever went down."

Flynn frowned. "What happened to Famine? Was he hurt?"

"Some bastard impaled him last night. We may not always agree but he's still an old buddy. When I find out who the bastard is, he's gonna wish he was never born. Say…" War's hand casually slipped toward Flynn and landed on his shoulder. Anyone looking would see it as an amiable gesture, but Flynn felt the strength hiding in those fingers and wondered if his shoulder bones would have crunched by now were he made of standard human stuff. "The only weapon that could do lasting damage to one of us is an angel's sword. I don't suppose  _you_  had anything to do with this?"

War could crush his shoulder with a little extra force, and a break that messy wouldn't heal fast enough to defend himself against a follow-up attack. As earnestly as he could, Flynn said, "No. I don't know anything about it, and I doubt Estelle does either. She asked me to come with her today because she still believes he's stalking her."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?"

Flynn steadily met War's eyes. "I swear on the Lord's name I am telling the truth."

"Ha!" He pulled his hand away and Flynn fought the urge to massage his shoulder. "That's good enough for you goody-two-shoes types. All right, then." The whole cushioned seat shifted as his weight lifted. "I have nothing else to do here. Give the girl my regards."

"If you do anything to hurt her-"

War waved his hand over his shoulder and stomped out of the lobby. Flynn watched him go with a frown. Now that the tension of the meeting was gone and he could think, he realized he  _did_  know something about Cumore's death. If only an angel blade could harm him, there could only be one person responsible. Hell would have no reason to attack Famine and Heaven would never kill their own weapon. It had to be an angel gone rogue, and considering who Estelle had been with last night, it wasn't hard to guess.

Dammit, Yuri. If War found out he was responsible, Yuri was going to be in a lot of trouble. He was relieved that Estelle no longer had to worry about Famine, but now he had to switch to worrying about Yuri and War. He had to worry about Estelle and War, too, because he still didn't know what he wanted with her. Cumore might be satisfied with sneaking around and making a move on Estelle only when she was alone, but he got the feeling War would be a lot more straightforward.

Estelle emerged from the elevator and smiled when she saw him.

"How did it go?" Flynn asked, standing.

"Fine." They headed to the exit. "It was a completely useless meeting. He just went through a bunch of papers and typed things into his computer and kept telling me it was important but wouldn't explain exactly what it was for."

"Bureaucracy can be like that sometimes. Are you going to work now?"

She checked her phone. "No. I told Mr. Dropwart I'd be in two hours later than usual and we still have an hour and a half. Can you go somewhere with me?"

"Certainly. Lead the way."

When they were standing at the bus stop, Flynn looked around to make sure they were alone and then said, "I recently received news that an angel dealt with Cumore last night." It was technically the truth, although he felt guilty for lying by omission. But if Yuri hadn't told Estelle what he'd done last night, he probably didn't want her to know. It wasn't Flynn's place to rat him out.

"Really?" Relief flooded her face. "You mean I don't have to worry about him anymore?"

Flynn couldn't help but smile at how joyful this news made her. "Really. I wouldn't say you're out of the woods yet, because War still has interest in you for some unknown reason, but the immediate threat of Cumore is gone."

The next thing he knew, she had wrapped herself around him and squeezed tight. "Oh, thank you so much."

"Ah! Uh…" Angels did not often hug other angels and Flynn found himself at a loss for proper protocol here. Before he could figure it out, Estelle pulled away.

"Sorry. I just - I'm really grateful for everything you've done."

"Me? I'm not the one who killed Cumore."

"No, but everything else. You're always here for me and the fact that Heaven sent you makes me so happy. It feels like… like God really is looking after me."

The bus pulled up and they took their seats. Estelle was quiet for the bus ride. She stared out the window at the wet roads and wreathes on every light post with a tiny smile. Flynn watched buildings pass, wondering where they were going. Bus travel was so inefficient, he thought as they made yet another stop. The vehicle was bulky, it smelled weird, blasts of cold air kept rushing in every time the doors opened, and they could only get off at predetermined locations. Flying was so much more practical.

"This is us." Estelle led Flynn off the bus. They walked another block to an old brick building with brown ivy clinging to the walls. The sign in front told Flynn this was a church. He didn't say anything as Estelle led him inside.

Singing greeted his ears when he entered. At the front of the large room, a choir was rehearsing "Hark, The Herald Angels Sing". Estelle slid along a pew in the back row all the way to the wall. She sat next to the white wall and looked ahead to the choir, who stood in front of colourful window of abstract angels. Flynn, who felt at home in any church, sat beside her.

"Have you ever seen  _Santa Claus is Coming to Town_?"

Flynn furrowed his brow. "That's a song, isn't it?"

"It's a movie, too. It's an old stop-motion movie from the 70s. It tells the story of Santa from when he was a baby adopted by elves, and his attempts to deliver toys to an oppressed village ruled by the evil Burgermeister Meisterburger. He falls in love with a woman who becomes Mrs. Claus, and his friend the Winter Warlock gives magic corn to reindeer to make them fly and eventually he and his friends and family have to flee to the North Pole, where they set up shop and deliver toys all over the world."

Flynn stared at her, because none of that had made a lick of sense, but Estelle was still gazing at the wooden cross hanging on the wall above the choir.

"It's a silly movie," Estelle said. "But I used to watch it every single year with my mom. When I was little, I really thought of it as being a completely factual biography of Santa Claus, but then I got older I figured out that Santa was just my mom. I watched the movie that year just as always, but it was… different. Instead of thinking 'oh, so  _that's_  why he puts things in stockings!' I just thought, 'this is silly; why is there a penguin in Vaguely-Germany?' I still enjoyed the story, but I couldn't help but notice all the inconsistencies and it just didn't  _feel_  the same. It wasn't the sacred truth of Santa Claus, it was just a story. The magic was gone."

"That sounds like an unfortunate reality of growing up."

"Yes, it is."

At the front, the director instructed the choir to start again from the beginning. Flynn's heart stirred at the joyful lyrics.

"This is the church my mom and I used to come to every Sunday morning. I was baptized here. I took communion here." Estelle's hands ran over the old polished wood and then slipped to a leather-bound book in the niche on the back of the pew. "I'd sit beside Mom and lean over to look at the lyrics for the hymns even though I couldn't read yet. I still tried to sing along, because when the whole congregation sang together it felt like we were all connected. Like we were a big family bound together through our love for God. That connection went backward, too. These hymns have been sung for hundreds of years and when you join in singing them, you're carrying that tradition forward. Even though my family consisted of only my mom and I, on Sundays I felt like I belonged to something so much bigger. We all worshipped God and it was this magical energy tying everything together. Um, I'm sorry if that doesn't make sense."

"… _with the angelic host proclaim,_

_Christ is born in Bethlehem._

_Hark! The herald angels sing…"_

"No, it makes perfect sense." Flynn took in the geometric shapes of angels on the stained glass windows while the choir sang. "Worshipping the Lord isn't something you do in your head, it's in your heart. Angels feel it, too. There's that… that tremor in your soul because you know you're part of something greater than yourself."

"Yes, that's exactly it. But if that tremor was a bowstring, I feel as if mine snapped. Ever since my mom died, it's just gone. When I read passages from the Bible or look at nativity scenes, it's like I'm back to nitpicking about the sentient penguin again. The spell has been broken. I don't  _believe_  the story is true, and it all falls apart."

"Would you like me to help you rekindle your faith?" His assigned mission was to protect her from harm, but guiding a wayward sheep back to the flock was always a duty for angels.

Estelle lowered her head. "I don't know."

"That's all right. I won't force you."

"I'm not sure if I want to or not. I haven't been here since Mom's funeral. I thought maybe if I came back today, I could feel something again."

"And do you?"

"Not really. I wish I could because the people at this church are like family to me, but when I look up… I just don't feel like anything's looking down. Yuri said that there's no evidence God is still there, but you still have faith. Where does it come from?"

"I'm… not sure."

Estelle turned her frustrated eyes on him. "But you're an angel. You have to know these things."

"There is no evidence that He's still there, but no concrete evidence that He isn't, either. I choose believe that He remains because I can feel it in my heart. I haven't been given a reason to doubt."

"Silence isn't a reason?"

"Who can say?" Flynn shrugged. "The trite saying is that the Lord works in mysterious ways, but it's true. As He says in the book of Job, 'Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea? Or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?' His power is so above us and that we can't possibly comprehend His motives."

"But God was horrible to Job. He killed all his children and took away all his livestock, all just to see how far He could push him before he lost his faith. When Job asked why innocent people suffer but wicked people are allowed to prosper, God never gave him an answer. He just said that His ways were too above humans for him to ever understand. He acts as if Job's question was completely unfounded, but I don't think it is. If God is really that powerful, and He really loves us so much that He sacrificed His son for us, why does he allow suffering to happen at all?"

Flynn wanted to give her an answer. He wanted to swoop in full of wisdom and be the perfect angel who won someone over back to the church. But as her question hung in the air, he drew a blank. His tongue twitched to say  _something_  but he worried he'd say the wrong thing and make it all worse. He didn't want to imply that her mother deserved to die again, because he really didn't believe God would kill her on purpose without having done a significant sin.

He hung his head and folded his hands. "I don't know. The ways of the Lord are… ineffable. I'm sorry I can't give you a better answer."

"I see…. Thank you for being honest."

"I will think about it and try to bring you a better answer."

The choir had changed to rehearsing "Silent Night". As much as Flynn loved the song, he wasn't feeling it today. With all his worries about Estelle, War, Yuri, and Death's warning, all was neither calm nor bright.

Estelle checked her phone. "We should probably head back. I don't want to keep Mr. Dropwart waiting."

"All right. I'll accompany you to work and then walk you home. Even if Cumore is no longer a problem, I'm still worried about War."

"Ok. Thanks again, Flynn."

* * *

 

It took Flynn some searching to find Yuri. Estelle had said he was at work at a place called The Comet, and then he had to find a phone booth with a phone book in it to track down the address. Finding a phone booth was difficult enough considering almost everyone had a cellphone these days. He eventually found one in main train station downtown, sitting in a dark corner and looking like the maintenance staff had forgotten it existed.

By the time he made it, the dinner rush had hit and Flynn waited outside so as not to get in the way. The cold didn't bother him, but the cars driving too fast down the narrow street and spitting slush at him certainly did. Flynn leaned against the stucco wall under the retro neon sign with his arms crossed, watching the cars go by. Their headlights glowed on the wet road and a few of them had bright red noses taped to the front and antlers taped to the sides. Festive. It would have been a boring wait, but having lived as long as he had, Flynn had a lot of patience.

He didn't go inside until most of the patrons had already left, and by now he only had half an hour to talk before he needed to be back at the bookshop to walk Estelle home. That was all right; he didn't think this would take very long. He stepped inside and was met with the smell of grease. The old red rug at the front door was saturated with melted slush and footprints streaked across the black and white checkerboard floor. A sign told him to please seat himself, so he walked past the stragglers still eating in the pleather booths and sat down on a swivelling stool at the bar.

"Hello!" a chirpy waitress said. "Can I get you something?"

"Actually, I wanted to talk to a friend of mine. Is Yuri here?"

"Oh, yeah! Let me get him for you."

She disappeared into the kitchen and a minute later returned with Yuri. Flynn barely recognized him for a second. He wore a stained yellow shirt with a badly folded collar and his long hair was pulled back in a hairnet.

"Yo. What are you here for? And what's that look for?"

Flynn covered his mouth and forced away his grin. "Sorry. You look… good."

Yuri scowled at him. "Are you here to talk or just to make fun of impoverished minimum wage workers?"

"Do you even make minimum wage?"

Yuri shrugged and leaned on the counter. "Hank pays me whatever he can. Officially I don't work here and this whole arrangement is mildly illegal."

Flynn frowned. "I didn't expect you'd leave Heaven and take up a life of crime."

Yuri held out his hands. "What do you expect me to do? This was a lot easier in the old days when I guy could drop down from heaven, show up at any dock and sign up as a sailor, no questions asked. Unfortunately, the world has progressed and now to get a job I need a social insurance number. To get one of those I need a birth certificate, to get one of those I need a doctor to sign it and verify I was actually born there… it's a pain. Plus, it turns out I can't leave the country because I don't have a passport! I should have dropped down in Europe."

"That… does sound difficult." He'd had no idea humans had made simply existing so complicated. "Where would they even deport you if you got caught?"

"No idea. They'd probably get so fed up with my utter lack of papers they'd throw me in prison just to get me out of the way. So it's probably best you don't report me."

"You could come back to heaven at any time, you know."

Yuri's hands dropped to the counter with a slap. "I'm not going back."

"Yuri, just think this through. If you stay here, you're never going to achieve anything. You said it yourself - it's impossible for you to fully integrate into society. You just don't have the papers to live as anything but an illegal immigrant. Is that what you want for yourself? Are you going to spend the rest of your life - your  _short_  life - working in this diner?"

"Maybe. I'm just taking things as they come. It's only been three years and already you're saying I'm wasting my life?"

"Three years is a long time for humans. Come back to Heaven. You'll be at your full power again, you'll be ageless, you'll have all your old friends, and you can really make a difference in the world."

"Oh, sure, bumming around and only helping people when they're theologically significant is 'really making a difference'. I left because the angels were doing jack squat to help people."

"And are you really making that much of a difference here?" This wasn't what he'd come here to talk about, but being around Yuri always brought out his argumentative side. "Since becoming human, what have you done to make the world a better place?"

Yuri pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Hey, I've helped loads of people. I've helped Judy put potential muggers, rapists, and murderers behind bars. Are you saying that's pointless?"

Flynn leaned forward and ran his fingers through his hair. "No, of course that's good. But, you've done this for  _one_ city. A lone vigilante taking care of a single criminal a night is a drop in the bucket. It's not actually  _changing_  anything. Meanwhile, by strategically intervening in certain cases, Heaven gently nudges the direction of humankind. If the world were a sinking ship, we're guiding it into port while you're running around trying to plug all the holes with your finger."

"And while you're trying to steer the big ship, how many people are drowning?"

"A lot fewer than if we let it flounder while everyone just plugged holes as long as they could."

"Your big ship wasn't going to do anything to protect Estelle."

Ah-ha, perfect, the topic had come back to what he initially wanted to talk about. "Yes, it did. That's why they sent me, and it wasn't part of the plan to kill Famine."

"And what were you going to do? Babysit her every minute of every day for the rest of her life? You know you were never going to get an order to take out Famine permanently."

"Famine was not an enemy of Heaven. He was part of God's plan for the end of the world."

Yuri frowned. "You really think the Apocalypse is going to happen? The whole end of days, fire raining from the sky, Jesus reigns for a thousand years?"

Flynn hesitated for only a fraction of a second before he said, "It's in the Bible."

"That doesn't answer my question. What do  _you_  think?"

"I think an angel should place his trust in the Lord." It was one thing to doubt the orders of higher-ranking angels, who were potentially fallible, but doubt the Bible - the inspired Word of God - was unthinkable. Even if it  _did_  sound wholly unlikely and was probably exaggerated by the human author two thousand years ago. Flynn shuddered and shook his head to clear such blasphemous thoughts from his head. He was an angel and an angel was not supposed to doubt. He hurried the topic along. "Whether or not you think killing him was a good idea, I originally came here to warn you that War is looking for you."

"Me? Thought he was after Estelle."

"He is, but he also wants to find whoever killed Famine and get his revenge. Yuri, he is an incarnation of pure chaos and violence. I would  _not_  recommend fighting him."

Yuri crossed his arms and tried to look cocky. "I handled Famine well enough."

"Famine kills slowly and subtly. He's not made for hand-to-hand combat. War, however, is. He'll rip you to pieces."

"Well, let's just hope he doesn't figure out who killed his buddy then."

"He found Estelle, didn't he? I don't know what his sources are like, but he may be able to find you, too. Just… be careful."

"All right." Yuri nodded with a slight, honest smile. "Thanks for the warning."

"You know, you would be safer if you were at your full power again. War couldn't reach you in Heaven."

It had been worth a shot, but Yuri's immediate scowl told him it was pointless. "Don't go trying to convert me."

"I just want what's best for you. You belong in Heaven, Yuri. It's your home. Here, you're eking out a living off the grid, barely getting by, and significantly under-powered. If you repented and came home, you'd be welcomed with open arms."

Yuri met his eyes for a long moment, and then shook his head. "Flynn… I respect that you still believe in the old man. I'm sure it's a lot more relaxing to think He's still there for you and all. But, I just… don't." Yuri shook his head. "I couldn't go back even if I wanted to. I can't just  _choose_  to believe and bam-presto there's my wings."

Flynn looked down at his folded hands. "I know." It was difficult to accept that Yuri truly was going to be human for the rest of his painfully short life.

"Don't look so down. It's not so bad being human. You know what? Wait there a minute." Yuri entered the kitchen and returned a minute later with a hamburger on a plate. "This is actually my dinner. I had just finished cooking it when you showed up, but it's still warm. Go on, take a bite."

Flynn examined the burger, carefully lifting the shiny bun to see what it contained. The answer appeared to be: grease and a few bits of green. There was a lumpy burger slathered in melted cheese, a criss-cross of bacon, a peppering of lettuce and diced onion, sauces that came in red, yellow, orange, and white, and a slice of tomato on top. It was all held together by a bun already saturated with grease and sauce. "Is this edible?"

"Incredibly. Try it."

Flynn lifted it carefully, trying to hold it away from his sweater to keep it clean. He didn't often eat, and when he did it tended to be simple, wholesome meals. Then he took a bite of the burger, and realized that ground beef, bacon, cheese, and whatever those sauces were mingled with lettuce and tomato in a heavenly way that burst through his mouth with flavour. It was both savoury and sweet in a way he'd never known food could be. Sauce dripped on his lips and he impulsively licked them to get more of the wondrous flavour. Part of him wanted to eat the entire thing, but he recalled it was Yuri's dinner and he should leave it to the one who actually experienced hunger. "That… that's amazing."

"And that's also the most unhealthy thing you've ever put in your mouth." He handed Flynn a napkin. "If you eat too many of these, they'll kill you. They're incredibly awful for you. You'd never get anything like it in Heaven. But Hell? You think Hell could whip up something that tastes so divine? They could never create something that makes people so happy."

Flynn finished wiping his face. "What are you getting at?"

"It's too sinful for Heaven, but too delicious for Hell. It is uniquely,  _awesomely_ , human. I like that about humans. A lot of them are really good people, but a lot of them are awful, too. Most of them are a mix of both good and awful. What that results in are wonderfully awful things like the heart attack burger and deep-dish pizza. They made explosives, which kill people and are bad, but they used those same explosives to go to the moon, and that's amazing. Humans blend the best of Heaven and Hell to create amazing new things. When I think about living the rest of my life as one of them… I'm ok with that." He picked up his burger and took a big bite. Before fully finishing swallowing, he said, "'M definishly ok wif dith."

Flynn shook his head with a bemused smile. Losing Yuri to the human world made him feel like Yuri was already gone with how short his lifespan would be now, but, if he was happy, Flynn supposed he could handle that. Thinking back on it, he couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Yuri this happy. In the past few centuries, he'd watched Yuri gradually become grumpier and angrier in Heaven. Now that he was down here, he'd blossomed with a new enthusiasm. Maybe his life would be shorter, but was immortality worth being bored and miserable in a world you barely believed in?

"I'm just glad you've found a place to belong."

"You should probably head back to the bookstore. Estelle's gonna be off work soon."

"Yeah, I'll head back now. Keep your eyes peeled for War and be careful."

* * *

 

Flynn said goodbye to Estelle at her apartment and then took to the skies. He took a moment to appreciate the city covered in snow from a hundred feet in the air, and then kept going until he passed into Heaven. He quickly made his way to Niren's office, but when he knocked there was no answer. Flynn opened the door and poked his head in, but the office was empty.

"Flynn." Sodia walked down the hall toward him. "He's gone to meet with Phaeroh and seek his advice on the Famine situation."

Flynn stepped out and closed the door. "Good. The situation has become more complicated."

"How so?"

Flynn met Sodia mid-hallway and stopped next to a marble pillar. "Famine is dead."

Sodia's eyes widened. "What? How is that possible?"

"He was killed by an angel blade."

"One of us killed him? Impossible. A demon wouldn't have either."

"No, it wasn't either of us."

Sodia looked him up and down and then crossed her arms. Damn, she was too good at reading him. "It was Yuri, wasn't it?"

It would do no good to try to lie. "Yes."

"Why do you continue to associate with that demon?"

"He isn't a demon. He's not allied with the forces of Hell."

"He betrayed Heaven and fell to Earth. That's enough of a reason to not associate with him. He's a bad influence."

"I like to think I'm confident enough in my own beliefs and morals to not be swayed merely by talking to someone who thinks differently."

"The fact that you're defending him is reason enough for me to be worried! Famine was part of the Lord's plan for the end of days, and Yuri killed him. That cannot be forgiven."

Flynn leaned against the marble pillar and wondered when he had started to feel so tired. "He was a horrible man. He tried to murder and terrorized an innocent girl and if he was allowed to live until the Apocalypse he would have brought food shortages and starvation to the world. We're better off without him."

Sodia gaped at him. "How could you say that? The Four Horsemen are the harbingers of the end. The righteous shall be saved while the wicked are punished and the Lord will reign for a thousand years of Heaven on Earth. It's written in the Bible."

"What if it's more complicated than that, though? The world has changed since the seals were made and the plans set. Why must the Apocalypse come with death, famine, and war? Wouldn't it be better if we could make the end of days more tolerable for the humans who must endure it?"

When Sodia slapped him, he was more surprised than hurt. "You mustn't say things like that."

Flynn stared at her in surprise, one hand on his cheek. Sodia placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. "That's how it starts, Flynn. You start to wonder if the darker elements should be true, and then if they  _are_  true, and then you start doubting the whole thing. You need to hold onto your faith. We are servants of the Lord and if Famine was part of His plan then we must support it. We must not question the Lord's plan. It isn't our place."

Flynn dropped his hand and nodded. "You're right. Thank you. Perhaps Yuri really is rubbing off on me."

Sodia smiled. "Hold onto your faith, Flynn. I couldn't bear to see you fall."

"I certainly have no intention of doing that. I'll wait for Niren to return with orders and proceed from there."

It was bad that Famine was gone. Killing him upset God's plan and thus it needed to be condemned. Flynn knew that, but as he and Sodia walked away, he still couldn't shake the feeling that the world was a slightly better place without Famine in it.


	11. Ye Merry Gentlemen

Yuri was the last person to leave The Comet that night. He’d kicked the last straggler finishing a bowl of chili out as the clock ticked to ten and then flicked off the lights in the dining area to make it clear they were now closed.

In the kitchen, he started to clean up. Hot oil bubbled next to the grill, but he’d let that cool off before disposing of it. For now, he scrubbed the grill while humming “The Christmas Song”. The damn song had been on the radio half an hour ago and he couldn’t get it out of his head, even though he’d never tasted a chestnut, let alone one roasted over an open fire nor knew why that was something to sing about.

It was a nice song, though. Christmas in Heaven was an entirely religious event and the only songs he ever heard were nothing but rah-rah God all day and all night. Angels might be good singers, but they’d never come up with lyrics as catchy as “White Christmas” or “I’ll Be Home For Christmas.” They didn’t have coloured lights, or trees, or presents in shiny paper, or mistletoe, or stockings hung by the chimney with care or the slimmest hope that a Saint Nicholas soon would be there. Heaven may have invented Christmas, but as far as Yuri was concerned, humans had perfected it. He’d rather live fifty Christmases in the human world than another thousand bland days in Heaven.

The human world _was_ better. Yuri was sure of it. There was more to do and more to see, with more opportunities than he could count. Everything about Heaven was so regimented and purposeful, while humans spent billions of dollars exploding things on camera just so other humans could pay to watch it. There was pizza, rock’n’roll, monster movies, and a truly limitless supply of cat videos on the internet. Heaven didn’t have the internet and Yuri was fairly certain Flynn had never seen a cute kitten video. It was preposterous to imagine that the guy who had never watched a video of a cat trying to sit in a box too small for it was living in the better world.

Yuri realized he was scrubbing the grill more fiercely than necessary and rinsed the sponge in the sink with a scowl. He was happy here; really, he was. Why, then, was he unable to shake Flynn’s words?

_“Since becoming human, what have you done to make the world a better place?”_

He’d left Heaven because he was tired of sitting around and doing nothing while suffering plagued the world. Now he was here, and… what? What had he done? Yes, he’d helped individual people and he wouldn’t say he’d been entirely useless, but on the grand scale of things, the crime rate in Zaphias hadn’t gone down since he arrived. Stopping one or two crimes a week wasn’t even a notable statistic. He wanted to help people, but how was he supposed to do that as a powerless human stuck working under the table jobs?

He couldn’t go back to Heaven even if he wanted to. You needed wings to get up there, and save for a miracle there wasn’t much that would convince him God was still around. Hell was, technically, an option, but one he was certain he’d never take. He was stuck here, and couldn’t even leave the country because he didn’t have a god damn passport. One angry drifter was not going to make a difference in the world.

Worst of all, for the first time in his life he had a time limit. Yuri was used to thinking he had all the time in the world to do things, but the fact was that he got closer and closer to human every day. Sooner or later, he was going to start aging toward death. He was ok with living a human life, but dying in a few decades meant he couldn’t just sit around and hope things worked out in a century or two. His plan to come down here, kick some ass and save lives wasn’t accomplishing anything, but he had no idea where to go from here.

The door jingled as it opened and Yuri rolled his eyes. Some people clearly couldn’t read because he was certain the ‘Closed’ sign was in the door and the lights in the front were all off. Who the hell saw a dark building and decided it was a good place for some late supper? He left the sponge in the sink and stalked to the front of the kitchen. “Hey, we’re - what the hell are you doing here?”

Zagi strode across the dark dining room. “Hello, Yuri. Surprised to see me?”

Yuri leaned on the counter. “No. You keep showing up like a persistent cockroach.”

“Well, this is the last time I’m going to show up!”

“Is that a promise?”

“Because I’m going to kill you!”

“You keep saying that. I don’t think it means what you think it means.” Yuri remained calm outwardly, but his eyes raced to find a weapon. There were plenty of knives back in the kitchen, but the most threatening thing he had at the counter was a rubber spatula. He needed to keep Zagi talking while he manoeuvred his way toward the knives. “Why are you so obsessed with killing me, anyway?” He stepped back and leaned against the doorway to the kitchen. Turning his back on Zagi and making a run for the knives could be lethal. “Is this about the time I kicked your ass in Byzantium? That was in… what, 300 BC? You need to let it go, man.”

Zagi’s face contorted with rage. “You cheated!”

“It’s not my fault you got hit by a donkey cart. Should have watched where you were going.” Yuri crossed his arms and shook his head. “You’re still trying to get revenge on me because I kicked your ass over two thousand years ago? You really need a new hobby. Don’t they have knitting groups in Hell?”

Zagi growled and then whipped out his sword. “It’s not just that! You are my _nemesis_ , Yuri! Our mighty conflict between angel and demon will be remembered like David and Goliath!”

Yuri wrinkled his brow, trying to figure out which of them, in Zagi’s weird little mind, was supposed to be David in this situation. “So, have you actually read the Bible, or…?”

“It doesn’t matter because you’ve let yourself become weak and now I’m gonna peel your skin from your bones.” He neared the edge of the counter.

Yuri backed into the kitchen. The knives were about twenty feet away at the chopping station. “Ha! You think you can win now? You’re so pathetic even a human could hand your ass to you. I killed a Horseman of the Apocalypse, and you think I can’t handle you?”

Zagi’s sword lowered for a second. “ _You’re_ the one who attacked Famine? Oh-ho, this might be even more fun than I thought.”

“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” Yuri backed up slowly, aware that as soon as he bolted for the knives, Zagi would strike. He couldn’t make it obvious he was moving with intention until he was close enough that Zagi wouldn’t get to him first.

“Someone’s looking for you.”

“Oh, yeah, I already know about War.”

“Him? Ha! You’ve got Conquest on your tail, too, Yuri. He’d have found you and crushed you already if he wasn’t so caught up with that girl.”

They were both in the kitchen now. Only a few more steps and Yuri could make a run for the knives. “What does he want with Estelle now?”

Zagi smirked. “Are you worried about your little girlfriend? He was asking all the demons what they knew about her. I bet he’s going to kill her. Too bad you’ll be too dead to help her!”

As far as Yuri knew, Conquest had said he was going to try to investigate what War wanted with Estelle so hearing that he was asking about her wasn’t particularly alarming. If this was the best Zagi could come up with to taunt him, it was pathetic. “Ok, sure. You got me.”

“This ends today, Yuri!”

Yuri still wasn’t sure what ‘this’ was other than a petty feud only one of them cared about, but Zagi charged. There wasn’t time to reach the knives so Yuri leapt sideways to avoid Zagi’s blade. Momentum threw him into a plastic shelving unit which toppled to the ground with him. His landing was cushioned by bags of hamburger buns and bread. Zagi’s sword missed Yuri and slashed across a stainless steel cupboard with a shriek and left a long scratch. Yuri got to his feet, but Zagi was between him and the knives now, and charging once again.

Yuri grabbed the nearest thing he could use as a weapon, which happened to be a plate, and tossed it at Zagi. It shattered against a cupboard and then he threw two more. The third one managed to smack Zagi in the face before shattering on the floor. This slowed Zagi down just long enough for Yuri to make a run for the chopping station. The sword slashed at him and he avoided it in the nick of time, but not before it cut across his arm. Yuri ignored the warm blood flowing down his arm and back against the grill. He grabbed a metal spatula, which wasn’t a knife but was better than nothing.

Zagi was faster, stronger, and more resilient. Yuri had easily kicked his ass in the old days, but Zagi still had a full tank of celestial gas while Yuri was running on fumes. He used the spatula to block several blows, but all he managed to do was deflect the strike from a vital organ to superficial cuts on his arms. Blood splattered on the stainless steel counters and Yuri slowly backed away. He couldn’t lose to Zagi of all people, but it looked like he might.

God damn it! Yuri gritted his teeth as Zagi’s sword raked across his chest. He’d leapt back to keep it from being fatal, but the long slash stung. His spatula was bent and scratched and wouldn’t last much longer.

Heat hit the side of his face and he pulled his hand away before accidentally smacking the vat of frying oil. It still simmered and that gave him an idea. Zagi was grinning like a maniac and made another lunge at him, but instead of blocking, this time Yuri threw himself sideways. Zagi stumbled, and it would have been a good time to strike if Yuri were armed. Instead, he dropped the spatula and threw himself at Zagi. One hand clamped around Zagi’s arm and the other grabbed the back of his shirt and he pushed.

Zagi sizzled as Yuri dunked him in the hot oil. It wasn’t quite boiling anymore, but still hot enough that when Zagi pushed Yuri to the ground and bolted up his shriek could have cracked glass. Zagi had shoved him with enough force to smash into an aluminum cupboard and leave a dent. Yuri was still woozy from smashing his head while Zagi screamed and thrashed around, steam rising from his bright red face. He bolted for the exit, stumbling and crashing into the counters on his way out.

A minute after Zagi left, Yuri finally got to his feet and closed the door. His head hurt and his injuries throbbed, but they’d stopped bleeding. They’d heal soon enough. Letting out a long breath, he turned to face the kitchen. Blood splattered on the counters, plates were smashed, there was a dent in the cupboard and the deep fryer was definitely going to need to be cleaned Damn. Hanks knew about the angel thing, but his insurance certainly didn’t. The kitchen was going to need some repairs.

Still sore, Yuri sank to the ground and leaned against the counter. He used to heal so much faster than this. It had been a while since he’d been this beat up; cuts and scrapes still closed up rapidly, but the more damaged he was, the slower the healing came. He quickly dialled Judy’s number.

One ring later, he got, “Constable Hermes’ phone, Altosk speaking.”

“Hey, old man. It’s Yuri.”

Raven dropped the professional tone. “Yo! What can I do for ya, kid?”

“You guys busy?”

“Judy’s writing a parking ticket at the moment but otherwise we’re just driving around.”

“Good. I need you to come to The Comet. Zagi showed up and smashed the place up a little.”

“Anyone hurt?”

“Nope, but Hanks’ is gonna need an official police report to explain this to his insurance and I’d rather not have to explain to any other cops.”

“We’ll be there in a jiffy.”

By the time Raven and Judy arrived, Yuri had stopped bleeding and the bruises had mostly faded. He met them at the counter and then held his arm out to the kitchen. “Hey. As you can see, we had a bit of a fight.”

Judy’s eyes lingered on Yuri’s blooded yellow shirt and arms. “Are you all right?”

“Oh, yeah. Healed in a snap. I’m still a little bit of an angel, you know.” He grinned so they wouldn’t realize how slow it had actually taken. If he hadn’t been able to use the hot oil against Zagi, the fight might have gone very differently. He was weaker than angels and demons now, and it wouldn’t be long before he was no stronger than an ordinary human. Would fights against regular humans soon end just as dangerously? When his healing abilities dried up and his strength was limited to whatever mortal muscles could manage, he wasn’t going to be much help. He was barely making an impact now, and once he was a normal guy, he’d be useless.

“So, a guy came in looking to rob the place,” Judy said, pulling out her notepad and surveying the kitchen. “He had a knife and told you to open the cash register. You had a feeling he planned to kill you anyway, so you fought back.”

“Sounds about right.” Yuri leaned against the bar while Judy walked into the kitchen. “Leave out the part where I dunked him in boiling oil or they’ll never believe he escaped on foot.”

Raven gave him a look. “Did you actually?”

Yuri grinned. “Deep fried Zagi. Smelled awful.”

Raven gave him a high-five. “Nice.”

“We happened to be in the area,” Judy said, “so you ran outside and flagged us down after he fled. We took your report, got a description of the attacker, and administered first aid.”

Yuri nodded. “Sounds legit.”

“We’ll file the report when we get back to the station,” Raven said. “Did you drive here or d’ya want a ride home?”

“I wouldn’t mind a lift.”

Yuri sat in the back of the car, a metal grill between him and the others. He didn’t like riding with Judy and Raven because it made him feel like a criminal, but admittedly he didn’t feel like walking home or standing on a bus. He was more sore than he’d like to admit.

As they drove, he leaned back and stared out the window. He really was sore after that fight. A little over two years ago, he’d been shot by a douchebag holding up a gas station. He’d stuck his fingers in the wound, pulled the bullet out, and then hopped up to chase the bastard out of the building. Now he was sore from a few slashes and a simple fight. He wasn’t going to be able to ride this one-man-army train for very much longer.

“Hey, what’s it like being a cop?”

“I think it’s a lot of fun,” Judy said. “Why do you ask?”

“Eh, no reason.”

Raven twisted in the seat and eyed him through the grill. “You’re not thinkin’ of signing up, are ya?”

Yuri shrugged. “It crossed my mind.”

In the rear view mirror, he saw Judy twist her lips and glance at him in the reflection. “I’m not sure that would be a good idea.”

“What? You don’t think I could cut it?” Suddenly he wanted to be a cop more than ever just to stick it to her.

“What makes you wanna join the force?” Raven asked.

Yuri crossed his arms and grumpily watched storefronts pass by. “Well… I’m not going to be an angel for much longer. It’s almost gone already. Sooner rather than later, I’m just going to be a normal guy. If I keep working the way I am now, I think I’d get killed pretty fast.”

“Most likely,” Judy said, alarmingly calm about this subject of his murder. “Especially since you’re not used to needing to be careful.”

“I was thinking, though, that maybe I should become a cop like you guys. That way I can keep helping people, but I’d have equipment and back up.”

Judy and Raven exchanged a look. They were clearly thinking the same thing, but Raven took this one. “Ya left heaven because you were tired of feeling useless, right? ‘Cause you had all that power and resources but your superiors were dumb about how to spend it?”

“Basically.”

“Right. I think you’d get fed up in the police pretty fast. You think Heaven was corrupt and petty? Try an organization tryin’ ta make a profit. There are quotas and office politics and more red tape than you wanna deal with. You can’t just beat up the perp when you’re a cop or he’ll sue and you’ll go down for brutality. If you try ta investigate somethin’ without the right warrant, the whole case gets thrown out and you’ll have to watch the bad guy walk away even though you _know_ he did it. Trust me, kid, policin’s not for you. It would piss you off for all the same reasons Heaven did.”

“Quotas? Why do the police need quotas?”

“That’s what I say!” Raven slapped the armrest. “Means guys are out there just lookin’ to write a ticket so they can reach the quota instead of actually tryin’ ta keep people safe. Imagine if firefighters had quotas? They’d end up setting houses on fire just ta make their numbers look good.”

“Ugh, great. So why did you guys join?”

“I wanted the adventure,” Judy said. They passed the park where Yuri had killed Cumore and he tried not to look at the certain patch of trees. “It’s nothing noble about justice or helping people. I just thought it sounded fun to chase bad guys.”

“What about you, old man?”

“Thought it would be interestin’. Besides, ladies dig a cop.” They pulled down Yuri’s street and he added, “Also, stop calling me old. I’m only thirty-five.”

“What? But that’s ancient.”

“You were born before the invention of paper!”

Yuri shook his head slowly. “And you’re still the old timer here. Incredible.”

“Har har.”

They pulled up in front of Yuri’s house and he got out of the car. “Thanks for the ride, guys. Enjoy your doughnut break or whatever it is cops do.”

“See you later,” Judy said, and then they left.

Yuri stomped across the snowy driveway to his entrance. He still hadn’t remembered to put salt on the steps, so he walked down very carefully. So much for the cop idea. There had to be _something_ he could do. Join the army? No, he’d run into the same problem of getting sent to fight stupid wars he didn’t approve of. Inside, he tossed his jacket on the couch and pulled out his phone. He could figure out what to do with his life later. For now he needed to call Hanks.

 

* * *

 

On Sunday, Estelle sat near the back of church. She didn’t know exactly why she’d decided to attend today, but she figured she might as well try. The songs were nice and the sermon was pleasant, but she couldn’t shake the feeling that it was all smoke and mirrors. If even angels didn’t know God was real, how could humans? What point was there in basing her life on a guess?

As they sang the final hymn, Estelle stared at the lyrics in the book and mumbled the words to “Angels We Have Heard on High”. It was a beautiful song, really. All around her, the congregation sang in unison as the harmony trilled up and down, stretching the O of ‘Gloria’ into a verse all its own. Estelle’s heart used to soar with the notes when she sang, but today it felt like a rock. The empty space on the pew beside her was like a vacuum, reminding her of whom she wasn’t singing it with.

When the service came to a close, Estelle slipped toward the exit. The rest of the congregation was headed to the basement, where they’d eat brunch and socialize. Estelle remembered spending ages sitting around as a child, waiting for her mom to stop chatting so they could go home. Today, the thought of mingling with dozens of cheerful people telling her how happy they were to see her was exhausting just to think about. She left the church and leaned against the brick wall. Her cold hands dug into her coat pockets as she watched the traffic go by. She still had fifteen minute to kill before the bus came.

Estelle quietly hummed “Angels We Have Heard on High” while waiting. There were a lot of songs about angels, and in the past she’d always pictured them as ethereal beings in white robes with harps and wings. Now when she thought about a herald angel singing, she saw unruly blond hair and hideous sweaters. It took some of the majesty out of the mental image.

She sang under her breath, “Angel I have heard in high school, sweetly wearing ugly clothes. And then Yuri in reply…” Her words died in her throat as a white car pulled up in front of the church. Alexei stepped onto the sidewalk and set his eyes on her.

Estelle straightened up and glanced to the broad wooden doors of the church. She could probably make it inside if she was fast. Alexei stepped in front of her just as she was about to move.

“Good morning, Miss Heurassein.”

Estelle turned her eyes upward and steadied herself. “Hello.”

“I would like to speak with you in private. Please accompany me to my residence.”

Her fingers bunched together in her pockets. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Even if he wasn’t an immortal celestial being, getting into a car with a strange man was a terrible idea.

She suppressed a flinch when his large hand engulfed her shoulder. “It was not a request. I have information pertinent to you.”

He started to pull her toward his car and she quickly said, “I’ll go with you if Flynn comes, too.”

“No.” His hand moved to her bicep and gripped firmly. “The angel is not invited.”

Estelle’s shoes slipped on a patch of ice as she tried to pull away. “Let go of me!” _Flynn!_ She fervently prayed. _Flynn, please, I need help!_

Alexei opened the passenger side door and tried to push her into the car. He was far too strong for her - she kicked his shins but only hurt her feet.

The doors to the church opened and then a small blur tore toward them. Alexei turned to look when he heard the angry roar, and then Rita crashed into him. He stumbled against the car and then threw her to the ground, but it was enough distraction for Estelle to throw her leg up and smash her foot between his legs.

Alexei grunted and released Estelle to clutch himself in agony. Rita leapt from the ground and yanked Estelle’s arm. Before Alexei could recover, they raced up the steps and into the relative safety of the church.

They stood next to a table against the back wall, a few steps from the door, catching their breath. The back of Rita’s blouse was wet from falling in slush, but she was too tense to care. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming today?!”

“I’m sorry.”

“I was downstairs with my mom when someone said they saw you sneaking out. You’re so lucky I went out to look for you! Who was that guy?! Was he one of the Horse things?”

She nodded. “Yes, he’s Conquest.”

“Well he’s a dick parade!”

The choir director chatting near the stairs turned at Rita’s shout and gave her a disapproving look, which Rita ignored.

The church doors burst open and Estelle whipped around, afraid Alexei had come in to get her. Instead it was Flynn, sword drawn and anxious. “Estelle? Are you hurt?”

“Flynn! I’m ok now. Alexei tried to get me to go with him.”

“Thank you for calling me. I’m sorry I didn’t arrive sooner.”

“It’s ok. Rita saved me.”

Rita crossed her arms and glanced away. “Yeah, well… you kicked him pretty hard. That was great.”

Flynn lowered her sword. “You kicked Conquest?”

“Yeah!” Rita said. “She slammed him right in the nuts!”

Estelle blushed while Flynn raised his eyebrows. “You kicked a nigh-invincible harbinger of the Apocalypse in the groin?”

“Um….yes.”

“…Good job.”

Angry footsteps announced the arrival of the choir director. “Excuse me, what is the meaning of this? This is a church. Please keep your voices down.”

Estelle shrank into her jacket. “We’re sorry.”

“And what is this?” She gestured at Flynn’s sword. “That isn’t real, is it?”

Flynn instantly shoved it behind his back as if it would stop her from having seen it. “It’s… uh…”

“For a play,” Rita quickly offered. “He’s playing an angel. It’s a prop.”

The director raised an eyebrow. “I see… you shouldn’t carry it around away from rehearsals, then. Especially if you’re not even in costume. You look nothing like an angel; you can’t blame people for being confused.”

“Right,” Flynn said sorry. “I’m very sorry, ma’am.”

“Very well. Please refrain from shouting and causing a scene in church in the future.” Her expression suddenly softened and she added, “Estelle, dear, it’s so good to see you again. I hope to see you next week, as well.”

“Um… thank you.”

She left, and then Rita leaned against the back of the pew in the back row. “Ha. You don’t look like an angel, Flynn.”

Flynn frowned and looked down at the goose in a Santa hat on his shirt. “It’s the sweater, isn’t it?”

“I think you look very angelic,” Estelle said.

“Thank you. I’m happy to see you here today, Estelle. Did you decide to start coming regularly?”

“Hm… I’m actually not sure.” She stared at her boots. “I wanted to attend a service to see what it was like. I’m not really sure if I want to keep coming back. Honestly, it just… it just made me miss my mom a lot.”

“I’m sorry.  It must be so hard for you.”

Estelle inspected her shoes and mumbled, “Um… yeah.”

“What about you, Rita?  Did you enjoy the service?”

Rita crossed her arms and glowered. “My parents have been dragging me here every Sunday since I was a baby, but it’s not like I actually believe in any of this stuff.” She considered for a moment and added, “Well… ok, I admit I now believe in angels. I’m still skeptical about everything else, though.”

“I see. I’m sorry you’re being forced here against your will.”

“Really? Figured a guy like you would be down with preaching to as many people as possible.”

Flynn shrugged. “There are some angels who consider every soul dragged into a church for whatever reason a victory, but I don’t think it should work like that. If you’re being coerced or forced to worship, then it’s not really worship. I don’t think any practice that would make a person resent the Lord should be encouraged. Faith should be a personal thing, or at least that’s what I think.”

Estelle looked to the stairs to the basement and said, “I’d like to leave soon. I don’t feel like being here when everyone starts to trickle out and tries to talk to me.”

“I’ll ride the bus home with you,” Flynn offered. “I can spend the whole afternoon at your apartment if you wish.”

She smiled. “Thanks, that would be lovely. Do you want to come, Rita?”

“Sure. Just let me go tell my folks I’m leaving.”

She was still nervous from the close call with Alexei, but spending the day with friends should help.

 

* * *

 

On Wednesday night, Estelle leaned on the counter with a smile as she watched Yuri entertain a baby. The mother was browsing the children’s section in the bookshop while Yuri sat on a little kiddie chair in front of the stroller, making faces. He’d been hanging out in the store for the past hour, waiting to drive her home. It was nice to have company while she sat through her shift, which sometimes went hours without customers depending on the day. Then the mother smiled at Yuri and picked up the baby. Cradling it in one arm, she held up a board-book and Yuri pointed out brightly illustrated animals.

“Dear?” Another woman had come to the counter to pay for a book. “Are you all right?”

“Huh? Yes, I’m fine,” she said a little too quickly as she straightened up. She suddenly became aware of the moisture welling up in her eyes and scrubbed her face with her sleeve. “I’m so sorry.”

“Is everything all right, dear?”

She nodded and scanned the book. “Yes. That’s eight-seventy-five, please.” Estelle took the woman’s ten dollar bill and fished the coins out of the register as quickly as she could. It was so unprofessional to start crying at work. “Happy holidays,” she said as she pushed the change at the woman.

“Thank you… take care.”

When she was gone, Estelle grabbed a Kleenex from under the counter and rubbed her eyes. It was December 17th. Tomorrow it would be one full year since the worst day of her life.

As the clock passed eight and the woman and her baby left, Yuri helped her close up shop. Just as they were about to leave, Estelle’s cell phone jingled.

“Hello?”

“Evenin’, darlin’. It’s Raven.”

“Hi, Mr. Altosk.” Yuri looked up in interest by the door as she stopped to talk. “Do you need something?”

“I got good news. I think we’ve figured out who helped Cumore escape from jail.”

“That’s wonderful! Was it one of the other Horsemen?”

“Not exactly. I need you to come in and give a statement, though.”

“About what?”

“Officially, Cumore’s still on the loose. We need a statement from you about the last time you saw him. Sorry, I know it’s a pain, but until a body shows up the police can’t assume he’s dead.”

“I understand. Do you want to meet with me tomorrow?”

“Actually, uh… I sorta kinda procrastinated on this. Shoulda got this from you last week. Whitehorse is on my ass about it, so can I see ya tonight? You’re at work, right? I’ll pick you up, we’ll pop by the station and get this taken care of in ten minutes, tops, and then I’ll buy you an ice cream or somethin’ ta make up for the trouble. Deal?”

“Oh, I suppose that’s ok. Just a sec.” She covered the receiver and looked to Yuri. “Raven wants to pick me up so he can get some police work done. Apparently he forget to get this from me earlier. Sorry, is that ok?”

“Yeah, whatever. Sounds typical for that old man.”

She uncovered the phone. “Ok. I’ll see you in a bit.” She slipped the phone into her pocket and waited by the door with Yuri. “Sorry to make you drive all the way down here.”

“Don’t worry about it. I still got to hang out with you for an hour, didn’t I?”

She smiled and fiddled with the garland around the door. “How long have you known Raven? As long as Judy?”

“Just about. They started working together shortly after we met. I wouldn’t say I know him as well as her and he can be kind of obnoxious at times, but he’s a good guy at the end of the day. What about you and Rita? You know her a while?”

“We’ve been pretty close for the past couple of years.”

“I’d say you definitely have a good friend there if she tackled Conquest for you.”

Estelle beamed. “Yes. Rita is a wonderful friend. She’s been really great this past year.”

Raven’s car pulled up outside. “Looks like you’d better go. I’ll see you in the morning to go to school.”

“Ok! Sorry again.” She slung her backpack over her shoulder and hurried out to the passenger seat of Raven’s car. “Hi.”

“Yo! Sorry about this. I swear I’ll make it up ta you.”

“It’s not a problem.” He pulled away from the street and began the drive to the station. “You guys have been really helpful with Cumore and I’m happy to return the favour.”

“Just doin’ our jobs. Go ahead and pick a radio station, if ya want.”

“Oh, that’s ok. It’s your car.” It was currently on a channel playing nothing but Christmas music. She wasn’t too keen on it, but didn’t have any other channels in mind and felt awkward fiddling with someone else’s car.

“So, what’d you do in school today?”

“Not much.” She leaned against the car door. “This Friday is the last day of school so none of my teachers are starting anything new.”

“Ah, winter break. Sure wish we got two weeks off every Christmas at my job!”

Raven continued chatting for the rest of the drive. Estelle had been slightly nervous about riding with him, since she didn’t know him nearly as well as Yuri or even Judy, but he seemed friendly enough. After about twenty minutes of breaking through the downtown traffic, he pulled off the road into an underground parking garage.

“Is this the police station?” She peered out the window in confusion at the rows of parked car.

“Nah, sorry, we need ta make a quick pit stop.” He pulled into a space near the entrance labelled ‘Guest Parking’ and parked the car. “I need ta grab something from my apartment. Come on up; it’s cold down here.”

“Um, ok.” She left her bag in the car and followed Raven to a staircase. They entered a lobby and passed an artificial Christmas tree whose twinkling lights glimmered on the marble floors. Estelle felt bad for thinking it, but she had trouble believing Raven lived in a place like this. Cops didn’t make nearly enough money to afford the rent in such a lavish building.

She was still looking around in confusion when he swept his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into the elevator. He punched the button for the top floor, and now Estelle was certain something fishy was going on. A cop didn’t make enough to live in a place like this, and he especially didn’t make enough to live in the penthouse.

“Uh… Mr. Altosk, are you sure this is ok?”

“Sure. You can trust me.” He gave her a grin that wasn’t reassuring at all.

“Where exactly are we going?”

“Don’t worry about a thing.”

When the elevator stopped, Estelle stepped back until she bumped into the wall. The doors slid open and revealed a small landing with a single door to the penthouse suite.

“Come on,” Raven said, draping his arm around his shoulders and pulling her forward. “It’s gonna be ok.”

“I - I think I’ll just wait in the car.” She reached for the lobby button, but Raven’s grip tightened and he pulled her out of the elevator before she could reach it. “Please, let go of me!” Had he always been this strong? His grip was like stone. “W-what do you want from me?”

One hand firmly holding her, Raven knocked on the door. As they waited, Estelle frantically prayed. _Flynn, I think I’m in trouble. Please help me._

“Don’t waste your concentration on prayin’,” Raven said mildly. “He isn’t going to hear you so you’re better off not focusin’ on that.”

“What?” But why wouldn’t he hear her?! The thing about prayer was that you could _always_ do it.

The door swung open and she came face to face with Alexei. “Ah, good,” he said. “Please come in.”

Raven pushed and Estelle stumbled into the apartment. “What’s going on?”

“Thank you for your assistance, Schwann,” Alexei said.

 

 


	12. Carol of the Bells

Yuri sprawled on his couch playing a video game. It was some Japanese anime crap, but it was a good game. The graphics were kind of out-dated, but they’d cleaned them up for the PS3 release. Yuri enjoyed it because the moral of the story was that their goddess was fake, religion was a lie, and you got to kill a bunch of asshole angels. The only thing that was sort of weird was that every character got a bonus costume from some other game in the series except for the angel girl and the ninja.

His phone buzzed and he paused in the middle of a fight. “Yo, Judy. What’s up?”

“Hi, Yuri. Having a good night?”

“It’s a popcorn and video games night, so yeah.”

“One of these days you’re going to get a metabolism and learn about human weight gain if you keep having these nights, you know.”

“And until then I shall indulge in everything disgustingly unhealthy humans have ever invented. Seriously, I don’t understand how some angels get all high and mighty about being so superior to humans. Angels aren’t the ones who invented the chocolate lava cake.”

“So in the course of human history, the invention you point to as the pinnacle of human achievement is the chocolate lava cake?”

Yuri tossed some popcorn into his mouth and then nodded. “Sure.”

“Not spaceflight or the Great Wall of China or the Mona Lisa.”

“Ever tried to eat paint? Disgusting.”

Judy hesitated for a moment and then asked, “Have _you_ eaten paint?”

Shit. He’d said too much. “Not… exactly.”

He could hear her smirk over the phone. “Yuri, it’s imperative that you tell me this story right now.”

Yuri rolled to his side and glared at the TV. “I’m thousands of years old, remember. I’ve been kicking around the world since before the Greeks thought of democracy.”

“I know that. What does this have to do with eating paint?”

“There’s been a lot of changes and it’s hard to keep up with them all the time. The first time I checked in on humans and they were blowing each other up, I was shocked! I’d never seen anything like gunpowder before!”

“Get to the point Yuri.”

“So when they went and invented Styrafoam, how was I supposed to know? I don’t pay attention to every little human invention. What was I supposed to think when I saw a fruit basket on a table?”

Judy tried and failed to keep from laughing out loud. “My, Yuri, are you telling me you ate a Styrafoam fruit?”

“It _looked_ like an apple. Then I bit into it and got a mouthful of paint and… whatever the hell Styrafoam is made from.”

“Nice work, Yuri. Clearly you were a majestic angel of God.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. Is there a reason you called or did you just want to find something to make fun of me for?”

“Actually I was wondering if you knew where Raven went.”

“Sure, he picked up Estelle about an hour ago and took her to the station.”

“Hm? He left claiming he had personal stuff to do at home. He didn’t give me a form I need to sign, but he won’t answer his phone. Why did he pick up Estelle?”

“So she could go over the thing with Cumore.”

“What thing?”

Yuri sat upright and muted the TV. “Raven called Estelle and said he needed her to fill out an official statement about the last time she saw Cumore. He came to pick her up and take her back to the station.”

Judy was quiet for a moment. “That’s… odd. There isn’t anything we need to do about Cumore right now. That case was handed over to the detectives. I can’t think of any reason he would need to bring Estelle in. What time did you say he picked her up?”

“An hour ago.”

“It doesn’t take an hour to drive from her bookshop to the station.”

Yuri swore. “They must be in trouble. Alexei or War or something.”

“Maybe we’re overreacting. Try calling Estelle and I’ll try Raven again. I’ll call you back in two minutes.”

“Right.” He hung up and punched in Estelle’s number as quickly as he could. Repede looked up from his nap, noticing the tension in the air. With every ring of Estelle’s phone, Yuri grew more nervous. When he heard her voice, he burst into, “Estelle! Thank God, I was getting worried. Are you-” then he realized she’d kept talking and he’d gotten her voice mail.

He squeezed the end call button. They must be in trouble. But why had Raven made up an excuse to pick her up? Unless he was in on it. That couldn’t be; Raven was their friend. He would never hurt Estelle.

Really, though, what did he know about Raven? He didn’t talk about himself much. He gave the impression that he’d moved around a lot and he’d only been in the city for the past five or so years. He never spoke of any family or friends. Even Judy didn’t know where he’d lived before moving to Zaphias. Was it chance that Raven had befriended a fallen angel, or did Raven know more than he was letting on?

His phone buzzed and he shoved it to his ear. “She didn’t answer.”

“Raven didn’t either. Is it paranoid to think they’re in trouble?”

“Given how many attempt on Estelle’s life she’s put up with in the past couple of weeks, I think it would be naive not to.”

She sighed. “I think so, too. What I’m unsure of is Raven. Is she in trouble _with_ him or _from_ him?”

“I don’t know. You know him better than I do.”

“We’ll find them. I’ll start a search for his car on security footage. You contact Flynn.”

“If Estelle’s in trouble, I bet he’s already there.”

“Try to talk to him anyway. I’ll call you as soon as I find anything.”

 

* * *

 

“Why did you do it?” Estelle sat on a blocky sofa next to floor-ceiling windows. The city stretched out beneath her, even more lit up than usual due to all the Christmas lights. In the distance, the Sword Stair tower glowed with red and green lights.

“I’m sorry.” Raven sat on an identical black sofa across from the polished wooden coffee table. Alexei had disappeared into the kitchen to get a drink.

“Have you been betraying us all along?”

Raven leaned against the back of the couch and folded his hands. “Depends on what ya consider betrayal.”

“At least, you’re taking orders from him?” She glanced over her shoulder at Alexei.

“That’s true.”

“How did you even get mixed up with a Horseman?”

“That’s a discussion for another time.” Alexei appeared with a tray of crackers, cheese, and cold meat. He also carried a pair of wine glasses, but kept both of them on his side of the coffee table as he sat next to Raven. “For now, we need to talk.”

“Why did you need to bring me here? Why couldn’t we talk on the street?” The time he’d meant her no harm, he hadn’t minded her bringing an angel. Now that he was going out of his way to get her alone, she wasn’t nearly as sure of his intentions. She’d already prayed to Flynn, but he seemed to be taking a long time to arrive.

“I have discovered the reason War is interested in you,” Alexei said instead of answering her.

Her interest piqued and for a moment she forgot her fear. “You did? What is it?”

“Please, help yourself.” He gestured to the tray and picked up a cheese and meat combination of his own.

Raven was already going to town on the snacks, so Estelle slowly picked up a crack and a flimsy piece of prosciutto. It tasted nice, but she was too nervous to appreciate it. Alexei sipped from wine glass, but the second goblet remained untouched.

“I’ve investigated War’s whereabouts and activities over the past several days,” Alexei said. “It has come to my attention that he has gotten in touch with an anarchist group located in Zaphias. It is a group that believes government is inherently corrupt and true peace can only be found through freedom from laws.”

“That doesn’t sound like War’s cup of tea.”

“No. But the group does advocate for the dissolution of all federal programs and offices. Everything from police to politicians.”

Raven snickered. “Not too keen on the first one but maybe they’re onta somethin’ with the latter.”

Alexei gave him a dismissive glance and then continued. “So far, local law enforcement has ignored them because while they talk big, they have no way to carry out any plans. However, I believe that if they _did_ suddenly acquire the funds to purchase weaponry, we would see a wave of terrorist attacks aimed at government buildings across the country.”

“So War wants to help arm them?” Estelle asked.

“Indeed. He intends to throw large sums of money at this group, and likely other, similar groups, and encourage them to follow their dreams.”

Estelle thoughtfully chewed a piece of cheese and slowly swallowed. “Well… that’s bad, but we’ve withstood terrorist attacks before. I mean, it’s awful, but it wouldn’t destroy the world or anything.”

“No, it would not. It would, however, create a great deal of chaos and panic that would last for months, if not years. I daresay War would find the ensuing chaos highly enjoyable.”

Estelle frowned. “He’d hurt all those people just for fun?”

“He lives to invoke chaos and take peace from the Earth. He has grown bored waiting for the Apocalypse, especially in recent times. Humans today don’t appreciate it, but you currently live in the most peaceful era humanity has ever seen. War wishes to disrupt this peace to tide him over until the end of days.”

“How horrible.”

“This brings us to your role in this. As I explained earlier, the expenses of the Horsemen are restricted. I live in luxury,” he gestured around the immaculate apartment, “but I am unable to spend a single cent on political lobbying to further my agenda. War is in the same position. He is incapable of using any of the funds provided by the seal to pay for anything that would further his aims of chaos. To accomplish his mission of providing money to these groups, he will need an outside source of income - one that already exists in the world.”

“Me. He wants to use my money.”

Alexei nodded. “Correct. He appears to have a scheme in mind to acquire your inheritance and fund these acts of terrorism.”

Estelle shuddered. Mom had always used her money to donate to charity and help people. Imagining that money being used for weapons and hurting people made her feel sick. “But how? I don’t physically have any of it. It would need to be transferred out of the bank.”

“I do not know the details of his plan. It’s possible he intends to torture you into signing it over to him.”

Estelle’s fingers curled on her lap. “You - you really think he’d do that?”

Alexei merely nodded impassively. “It would be in character for him.”

“That’s not gonna happen,” Raven piped in. “We don’t want War gettin’ that money any more than you do, darlin’.”

“Miss Heurassein, I need to know: in the event of your death, what will happen to your fortune?”

“Um… well right now it will be divided into my mom’s favourite charities. Or mine, I suppose. She did say she trusted me to decide which causes I wanted to support so I could change them if I wanted to.” Not that he had. It wasn’t really _her_ money yet, and it felt wrong to change the recipients of her mom’s money. “Once I’m eighteen, I’ll have to set up my own will, but that’s not for two more weeks.”

“I see. So, all of your money is accounted for and is guaranteed to go to appropriate causes if you die?”

Her nod was so slight it was hardly noticeable. “Yes.”

“Good. Then, Miss Heurassein,” he picked up the untouched glass of wine and slid it toward her. “I must ask you to do the honourable thing and take your own life.”

Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes darted between the glass and Alexei. “Ah - w-what?”

Raven leaned forward. “Hey, you didn’t say anything about this.”

“Be quiet, Schwann.” His eyes didn’t leave Estelle. “As long as you live, War could enact his plan. We cannot allow that to happen. Once you are dead, your fortune will divide between worthwhile charities and be forever out of his reach. It is for the good of the world that you eliminate yourself from the equation before War can use you against your will.”

She looked to Raven for help, but he seemed just as lost as her. “But…”

“This wine is filled with a large dose of cyanide. You will lose consciousness almost immediately. I believe it should be relatively painless.”

Her lips parted in shock as her head shook. “I… I don’t want to die.”

“It is a sacrifice to save many other lives. Do you not consider yourself a Christian? Is it not part of your faith to strive to embody the traits of Christ?”

Estelle folded her hands and locked her gaze on the glass. Maybe… maybe he was right. If War was able to use her to hurt everyone else, then that would be terrible. If it was for the good of the world…. She could ask herself ‘what would Jesus do?’ and the answer was obvious.

“Hold on,” Raven said. “Don’t’cha think you’re jumpin’ the gun here? We just need to keep her safe from War. She doesn’t have ta _die_.”

What was she holding on to? This past year had practically been in black and white. She didn’t want to die, but if it would protect everyone else, then maybe… maybe she should do it. Maybe if she died, she’d get to see Mom again.

 _Mom_. She pictured her mother and imagined how she would react if she knew Estelle was even considering it. Mom wouldn’t want her to die, no matter what. Besides, Raven was right; this was just a precautionary measure. There was no guarantee that War would succeed if she lived, and none that he wouldn’t simply move on to another plan if she died.

Estelle shook her head. “I won’t drink that. I think we should focus on stopping War, because who’s to say he doesn’t have a back-up plan?”

Alexei thought for a moment and then stood. After he walked away, Raven turned to her. “He said he only wanted to talk to you. Don’t you dare drink that.”

“Why do you care?” she spat at him, her skirt bunching in her fists. “Aren’t you his servant?”

Raven scowled at the glass and nearly growled, “I didn’t sign up to murder any kids.” He snapped to his feet and snatched the glass from the table. “Conquest!”

As soon as he was gone, Estelle ran to the front door. It didn’t surprise her when it was locked. There had to be another way out of here. Her eyes landed on a sliding glass door and she rushed out to the balcony. The freezing wind nearly knocked the breath out of her and the metal railing burned her fingers as she grabbed it and leaned over the side. There was nothing but a straight drop fifty storeys down and she quickly pulled away from the dizzying height. The balcony stretched along the length of the building, and she dashed to the edge. Maybe once she got past the wall of slick windows she’d find somewhere to climb to the roof of the building. After that, she’d figure it out when she got there.

The balcony door opened again and Raven was shoved forward. Alexei strode into the night, his fingers clutched around a revolver. Estelle reached the edge of the balcony but the building was just as smooth over here. She had nowhere to run and Alexei was closing in on her. Raven held back, looking between her and Alexei in agony. The cold bar of the railing pressed against the small of her back and her eyes flashed between Raven and the gun. “Mr. Altosk… please…” She couldn’t stop shaking and it had nothing to do with the subzero temperatures.

“Step inside, Miss Heurassein. Bloodstains are very difficult to get out of concrete.”

“W-w-why should I care?” She blamed the tremor in her voice on the cold wind biting her face. “You’re just going to kill me either way.” _Please, Flynn, where are you? I need you! I need you right now! Help me!_

Alexei shrugged. “Very well.”

He pulled the trigger.

 

* * *

 

‘Contact Flynn’, Judy had told him. That was easier said than done; it wasn’t like the guy had a cell phone. Yuri marched into the night and his boots crunched on chunks of salt he’d spread over the steps. At the top of the stairs, he gazed into the blue-grey night sky.

“Come on…” he muttered, hating the cold. It didn’t usually bother him, but the chill settling into his nose was a harsh reminder of humanity. If Flynn wasn’t already with Estelle, he was up there. Phantom muscles flexed in Yuri’s back as he stared up at Heaven and longed to stretch his wings. Gravity felt like a physical hand gripping his legs and keeping him rooted to the Earth.

With a frustrated growl, he smashed his fist into the brick wall. God damn everything. Leaving Heaven really had been selfish, hadn’t it? He got to live the hedonistic lifestyle of a human while giving up his ability to help people. If he was still an angel, he could fly to Estelle’s aid himself.

 _If you were still an angel, you’d be sitting around in Heaven being frustrated that you weren’t allowed to interfere with Estelle at all_.

Wasn’t that a pleasant thought? He was damned as an angel and damned as a human. Either way, he was helpless to save Estelle.

Yuri turned against the building and gritted his teeth. There was only one option he could think of, and he didn’t like it. He closed his eyes and clenched his hands together in front of his belly.

_Uh… hello? God? Are you listening? It’s, uh, it’s me. Yuri. Yeah, long time no see. ‘Course, considering I don’t believe in you that makes this whole praying thing kind of awkward. So, let me direct this to the angel hivemind or whoever listens to prayers. Hey, guys. How’s Heaven? Listen, I hope you’re not still holding a grudge about the time I replaced the holy water with Mountain Dew. In my defence, I don’t think you gave it a proper shot. Humans invented this stuff and it’s delicious. Anyway, all I want is to get in touch with Flynn. Can you do that for me? Just pass on a message that I need to talk to him and it’s urgent. Thanks. Uh, amen._

Yuri cracked an eye open and peered toward the stars. He’d half-hoped to see the glow of Flynn’s wings already descending, but of course it would take at least a couple of minutes to deliver the orders to Flynn and get him Earthbound. Yuri hid his hands in his jacket as the cold began to numb them. Come on, Flynn….

After five minutes, Yuri decided that Flynn wasn’t coming. He didn’t know what he’d expected. Heaven probably didn’t even listen to prayers from ex-angels, and if they did, he’d offended far too many of them with his fall for them to even try to answer. He was going to have to handle this on his own.

Fifteen minutes later, Yuri was downtown. He had no idea where he was going, but he couldn’t bring himself to sit still in his basement while Estelle and Raven were in danger. He scanned the streets, desperately hoping for a sign of Raven’s car. His sword sat on the seat beside him. He didn’t normally bring it to a fight, but if they were going toe-to-toe with War or Conquest, he needed as much ammo as he could get.

He was so focused on searching the streets that the buzz of his phone made him jump. He shoved it to his ear, not caring that he was still driving. Traffic was so slow downtown it hardly mattered. “Judy?”

“I found them!”

“Yes! Where?”

“I got Yeager to help go through security footage. Through various camera feeds, we were able to track his car to a parking garage under an apartment building on Bay Street.”

“Good work. Text me the address and I’ll meet you there.”

 

* * *

 

It took at least five seconds for Estelle to realize she hadn’t been shot. She pried open her eyes, coming face-to-face with Raven.

He took a shuddering breath and then whispered, “Ow.”

“You meddlesome fool.” Alexei strode across the balcony and grabbed Raven by the back of the neck. He shoved him against the railing next to Estelle and he gasped as he bent double. Blood poured from a hole in his shoulder blade.

“Y-you saved me,” Estelle gasped. Her mind still reeled from how close she’d come to being shot and her body was too busy shaking to stabilize any clear thoughts.

“A mistake I shan’t allow him to repeat.” Alexei heaved and then tossed Raven over the side of the balcony.

Estelle’s scream was swallowed by the wind and she leaned over in horror as his body plummeted toward the distant ground. A second later, brilliant golden light erupted from the diminishing silhouette.

“I wouldn’t be unduly concerned, Miss Heurassein.” The light took shape as wings and Raven’s descent slowed. “It take more than that to kill an angel.”

“What…”

“Now that that troublesome angel is out of the way,” he grabbed her shoulder and spun her around.

He pinned her against the railing and pointed the gun at her head. She could still feel the heat from his previous shot. Estelle’s heart thudded so hard she had trouble breathing. Her eyes narrowed on the barrel so close to her face and a million things she’d never had the chance to do or say flashed through her mind. Was it going to hurt? What a stupid thought. A chunk of lead was about to explode through her skull. Of course it would hurt.

“Wait,” she whispered. She hoped he could hear her because fear clogged her throat and she couldn’t make her voice any louder. “I… I would rather drink the poison.”

Alexei withdrew the revolver. “Very well. I can acquiesce to a final request. Besides, it will make much less of a mess for me to clean. Come inside.”

He turned away from her and entered the apartment on his own. He didn’t need to force her in, because he knew there was nowhere else for her to go. The only way off this balcony was to follow him or jump, and either way she’d end up dead. She swallowed a lump of fear and hugged herself. _Oh, Mom, I really wish you were here._

Estelle glanced over the balcony, briefly considering jumping. The lights of cars down below were so far away it made her head spin. Where was Raven? She couldn’t see any more light, so he must have landed. She still hadn’t processed the fact that he was an angel, but she supposed it didn’t matter when she was dead.

Through the window, she spotted Alexei watching her impatiently. Estelle forced herself to move inside, but the warmth of the apartment was of little comfort today. She met him in the middle of the room, where he held a shot glass filled with red wine.

“I apologize for the crass delivery. Schwann so kindly smashed the previous glass. The poison is more concentrated in this dose, however. I believe you will appreciate how quickly you lose consciousness.”

“Oh.” She took the glass and feared her trembling hand would drop it. Alexei would probably not bother pouring more and just shoot her. “You really don’t have to do this. We can try to find another way to circumvent War’s plans.”

“Perhaps. But eliminating you from the equation is by far the simplest solution. Drink it.”

She lifted the glass to her lips. The smell of sweet wine mingled with a bitter undertone. “What are you going to do with my body? Will you at least let my friends bury me properly?”

“What happens to your corpse is of no concern of mine. Now stop stalling, girl, and drink.”

He stood so close to her and the revolver was still in hand. She couldn’t put this off any more or he would use it. _I don’t want to die!_ But there was no way out. Estelle closed her teary eyes and poured the wine into her mouth.

 

* * *

 

Yuri parked next to Raven’s car when he found the building. He hopped out and immediately peered through the windows. Estelle’s backpack sat on the floor in the passenger seat, but there was no sign of foul play. He was about to run into the building and look for them when Judy arrived, motor revving as she turned into the garage.

“Hey,” she said as she yanked her helmet off. “Any sign of them?”

“None. We need to ask inside.”

“Right.” She glanced at the sword in his hand and frowned. “Any way you can hide that?”

“Angels never bothered inventing sheaths for these things. Sorry.”

“It’s ok.” They power-walked to the stairs. “Since you’re with me, hopefully no one will give you any trouble.”

When they reached a lobby that reminded Yuri of Estelle’s place, he asked, “Any idea what Raven would be doing here?”

“Not a clue. And there was no sign of a struggle in the car?”

“No. It looks like Raven drove here willingly.”

Judy’s face tightened with a frown. “I’m worried about him. He was acting a little distant today and now this. What has he gotten himself involved in?”

The lobby was mostly empty, but Judy marched up to the doorman. “Excuse me.”

He nodded slightly. “Evening, ma’am. Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for a man and a girl who I believe came here tonight. The man is about five-seven, thirty-five years old, with brown skin and black hair in a ponytail. He’d be travelling with a teenage girl with short pink hair.”

“Oh, yes! I saw them come up from the garage about half an hour ago. Got in the elevator.”

“Good. Any idea what floor?”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t know that, but there’s a security camera inside. If you talk to the security guys I’m sure they’ll show you the footage.”

“Thank you.” Yuri started to follow Judy across the lobby, but then she stopped. “You wait out here in case they come down. Keep your eyes peeled.”

“Got it.”

Judy headed off to the back room, undeterred thanks to her uniform and badge, while Yuri lurked in the lobby. They must look like quite a pair, he thought. A uniformed cop with some guy in scruffy clothes and an antique sword. The doorman certainly gave him some odd looks as he skulked near a planter. He shifted from foot to foot and every two seconds he looked to the elevator doors.

Just as he was growing impatient and considering hopping in the elevator and checking every floor, just in case, light burst on the street. His head whipped through the glass doors and he saw broad golden wings descend to the sidewalk. The doorman continued leaning against a pillar, none the wiser to the angel landing outside. Yuri smiled slightly at the knowledge he was still enough of an angel to see this, and dashed outside.

“Flynn!”

When he got closer, he realized it wasn’t Flynn at all. The light faded as the angel lay on his stomach in the snow. After the bright light of his wings, it took a moment for Yuri’s eyes to adjust to only the glow of streetlights. Once they did, he noticed the dark stain across the body’s back, and then he took in the shaggy black hair and light brown hand weakly pushed against the sidewalk.

“ _Raven?_ ”

He groaned and turned his head to face Yuri. After a few blinks he muttered, “Hey, Yuri.”

“What the hell!? You’re an angel!?”

Raven pushed himself onto his arms and winced. “No offense, kid, but I just got shot and pushed off a buildin’, so I don’t really feel like discussin’ this now.”

Yuri’s eyes went to the hole in the back of his short. It was hard to tell through the blood, but the bullet hole had already completely closed. Yuri assumed from experience that the bullet had been pushed out first. Angel healing was nothing but thorough. That also meant that Raven was perfectly fine, so there was no need to worry about him. “Where’s Estelle?”

“Top floor.” He struggled onto his knees and brushed snow from his chest. After a few deep breaths he continued, “Conquest’s got her. Hurry, he mighta already shot her.”

Yuri had a lot of questions, but they could wait until Estelle was safe. “You ok to come with us?”

Raven reached up to take Yuri’s hand and then rose stiffly to his feet. He rotated his shoulder with a grimace. “Wouldn’t miss it.”

Yuri ran back into the building while Raven followed at his own pace. The doorman gave them a confused look as Yuri was suddenly joined by a new friend, but he wasn’t paid enough to care as long as they were with the police. Just as they reached the elevators, Judy ran back into the lobby.

“Yuri, they - Raven?”

“Hey.”

“Top floor,” Judy said.

“I know,” Raven said.

The elevator doors dinged open and they piled in. “When did you get here?” Judy asked.

“He fell from the top,” Yuri explained. “Turns out Raven’s an angel. Who knew?”

She gave him a sharp look. “Is that true?”

“Yep.”

The elevator seemed to rise impossibly slow. Yuri fidgeted and asked, “It never occurred to you that maybe I’d like to know?”

“I was supposed ta be undercover.”

“From _humans_. I’m one of you!”

“You’re not, you know,” Raven said. “Technically speakin’.”

“Close enough.” What really ground his gears was that his first few months in Zaphias had been some of the hardest months of his life. He’d thought he knew about humans, but it turned out being human was a lot more complicated than he thought. There was rent, bills, and taxes to worry about. It turned out humans could not, in fact, eat nothing but pizza and cake for a week without being in pain and it had taken an embarrassingly long time before he learned that teeth brushing was a thing. The first night, he’d actually freaked out and thought he was dying when he’d been up for almost twenty-four hours and realized that this was what humans meant when they said they were sleepy. It was lucky it had been summer because he didn’t know the first thing about keeping warm, but he’d still come close to passing out a few times before Judy realized his problem and told him he needed to drink water in the heat.

Throughout all of that, he’d struggled with feeling utterly alone. Yuri was a people-person, and the feeling that not a single person around him understood where he came from or how he felt had made the months before he fully settled into humanity painfully lonely. Now he found out that one of the two friends he’d made in the beginning had actually known _exactly_ what he was used to and where he was from, but decided not to tell him.

The elevator binged as they arrived. Yuri rushed out first, but Judy grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. She drew her gun and said, “I’m going in first.”

Yuri glared at her and tightened his grip on his sword. “Try to stop me.”

“Yuri, Alexei has a gun and you have neither a bullet-proof vest nor the healing ability to shake off a gunshot. Stay the hell behind me or I’ll shoot you in the foot to keep you out here.”

Yuri hated to admit she had a point, but even if he didn’t agree, he knew she would live up to that threat. Yuri let Judy and Raven take the front and charge up to the door.

 


	13. A Thrill of Hope

The wine was sweet, but the bitter taste of cyanide was strong on her tongue. As soon as she swallowed, she would die.

Estelle grabbed Alexei’s tie. He was so startled by her movement she was able to jerk his face toward hers. He started to speak, and then she locked her lips on his. It would have been a kiss, but instead of her tongue she pushed a mouthful of bitter wine into his mouth. Alexei ripped away from her, choked, and swallowed on instinct.

The back of his hand smashed against her face with enough force to knock her to the floor. “You little-!” he coughed and clutched his chest. Alexei’s breath came as a wheeze and Estelle propped herself on her bruised elbow. Her mouth hung open, because she could still taste remnants of the wine and poison and she fought the urge to swallow the saliva building up. Alexei dropped to his hands and knees as he gasped for breath, and then Estelle ran to the kitchen.

She spat into the sink, and then filled a glass of water and swished it around her mouth. She kept rinsing and spitting until she could no longer taste the wine, and then kept going just in case. Her hands trembled and her head was light, but she couldn’t tell if that was the beginnings of cyanide poisoning or simply panic.

When she turned around, Alexei was convulsing on the floor. He had fallen unconscious, and Estelle clutched the empty glass while considering how it had very nearly been her in that position. Her mind was starting to slow down and allow her to think clearly, and she realized that the reason Flynn hadn’t shown up was that Raven must have been blocking the signal. Flynn had said that himself, hadn’t he? That a stronger angel could intercept the prayer?

_Flynn, I need you. Please come._

She didn’t need him as dearly at the moment, though. Alexei’s convulsions were beginning to slow and all she needed to do was find a phone and call Judy or Yuri for help. When she looked back to Alexei, his body had grown still and begun to fade. Estelle stared in shock as he began to resemble a ghost. He had almost completely faded when the door crashed open.

“Police!” Judy shouted and stepped inside with her gun raised. “Nobody move!”

“Judy!” Estelle’s hands snapped to her chest.

Judy took a look around the room and saw the last of Alexei fade away. She lowered the gun and entered the room. “Are you all right?”

“I - I think so.”

Yuri pushed past Judy and ran to her. He dropped his sword on the kitchen counter and pulled her into a hug. Estelle trembled in his arms as she tried to quell the dizziness brought on by panic. Now that the immediate danger had passed, it really sunk in how close she’d come to dying and she couldn’t stop the tears spilling out of her eyes.

“What happened?” Raven asked.

Estelle peaked around Yuri’s arm and saw Raven standing where Alexei’s body had been, examining the shattered remains of a shot glass.

“He made me drink poison,” she mumbled. “But I spat it into his mouth instead.”

“Nice one,” Yuri said.

“All right, Raven.” Judy holstered her gun. “Explain.”

“Ok… so… I’m an angel.”

“We noticed.” Yuri’s voice was like acid, but his hug remained comforting as Estelle tried to control her breathing before facing the others.

“I’m a bit higher on the hierarchy than you or Flynn. For the past couple thousand years, it’s been my job to assist the Horsemen and make sure everything goes smoothly when Revelation comes a’callin’.”

Judy crossed her arms. “How much did you know? Did you join the police just to be in position when this mess started with Estelle?”

“No!” He waved his hands. “Over the years, I found it was useful ta join the local law enforcement. Gives ya authority without needin’ ta be elected. I’ve been signin’ up with the city watches wherever the Horsemen decide ta live ever since I was carryin’ a spear around Jerusalem. Just so happens that about ten years ago they decided ta relocate to Zaphias. Gotta tell ya, I was pretty surprised when Judy introduced me ta Yuri.”

“You’re the one who released Cumore, aren’t you?” Judy said.

Raven looked down and scuffed his feet. “Eh… yeah…. Sorry. Look, I swear I didn’t know Conquest was gonna try ta kill Estelle. He told me he just wanted ta talk ta her.”

Estelle pushed away from Yuri and turned to Raven. “It’s ok.”

“It isn’t,” Yuri said. “You could have been killed.”

“But I wasn’t.” He put her hand on the counter to stabilize herself as her head spun with dizziness. “And… I definitely would have been if he hadn’t taken that bullet for me.”

Light on the balcony announced Flynn’s arrival. He ran inside and looked around the assembled group. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing we can’t handle,” Yuri said. “Estelle killed Conquest and Raven’s an angel. You know, no big deal.”

This just confused Flynn further. “Estelle, are you all right?”

“I…” Her head throbbed and she took a few deep breaths that didn’t seem to do anything. “Actually, I think… I think I’ve been poisoned.” Even though she’d spat it out, enough must have gotten down her throat to start taking effect.

Before everyone else could react, the apartment door opened again and Alexei stepped into the room. “That,” he announced to the shocked group, “was rather rude.”

He pointed his gun at Estelle and Yuri threw her to the ground just as a bang exploded through the room.  He pinned her behind the kitchen counter and wooden splinters from the cabinet above them rained down.

“Stay there,” Yuri snapped, snatched his sword from the counter, and dashed out to face Alexei. “What the hell?!” Yuri roared. “I saw you die!”

“Please, as if a Horseman could be killed by a mere mortal.”

Estelle huddled against the counter and hugged herself as shots rang out. She wanted to help, but knew she’d only get in the way. The others were all fighters, but she was just a girl and currently dying of cyanide poisoning.

“Flynn!” Yuri shouted. “Take Estelle and go!”

Seconds later, Flynn rounded the counter and dove to the ground half a second before a bullet whizzed over his head and dinged against the fridge. Without pause to talk, he scooped her up and bolted for the balcony. More shots fired and Flynn stumbled for an instant, but then he burst into the night. He used a patio chair as a step to leap onto the balcony railing and then instantly pushed off and jumped. Estelle yelped as her stomach back-flipped into her throat and cold air seemed to suck her toward the ground, but then warm light burst out of Flynn’s back and they were moving up now.

Flynn pulled her tight against his chest. “Don’t worry. I won’t drop you.”

Estelle closed her eyes and focused on breathing. Her head spun and her breaths came in rapid gasps. Flapping up and down through the sky aggravated her nausea and when they finally came to a perch, she was amazed she hadn’t thrown up yet. Flynn set her on a rough concrete surface. She rolled away from him and bumped into a concrete wall, and then gave up holding it in and threw up.

“Are you all right?”

“P-poison,” she gasped.  The world was spinning and her whole body shook.

Flynn pulled her up and she leaned against the wall. “It’s going to be ok.” He kneeled in front of her and rested one hand on her head and the other on her chest. She took a deep breath and then warm light glowed from his hands. Within moments, the headache faded and she was able to breathe easily again.

After a minute, he lowered his hands. “How do you feel?”

She took a deep breath and then smiled at him. “Much better. Thank you.” She finally took the time to figure out where they were and saw the roofs of skyscrapers. They seemed to be on a roof, and about twenty feet away the edge curved like a disk. Looking up, she saw a tower of cement decked out with lights, and realized they were at the top of the Sword Stair. She hugged herself tighter. “Why are we up here?”

“I’m sorry, are you afraid of heights? I thought it would be guaranteed to be safe, since nobody can get up here without wings.”

“It’s fine.” She shivered, and then Flynn pulled off his snowflake-adorned sweater.

“Here. You need this more than me.” He wore only a light t-shirt underneath, but paid no mind to the cold.  “Sorry it’s dirty.”

Estelle stared down at the sweater.  It was hard to see with only red and green lights high above, but there was a hole in the back ringed with a dark stain.  “Oh, Flynn, you’re hurt!”

“Don’t worry about me.  I was shot, but the wound has already healed.”  He twisted to show her his back.  She couldn’t see the actual wound through the darkness, but she took his word on it.  “Angels are pretty resilient.”

Estelle slipped the sweater on over her jacket and relished the additional warmth. “Thank you.”

“Do you want to tell me what happened?”

She nodded, and then explained everything since leaving the bookshop. Flynn listened carefully and then nodded when she was done.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea Raven could block your prayers.”

“It’s ok. I didn’t either.”

Flynn settled against the wall of the tower and Estelle found herself huddling closer for his warmth. “Do you think the others are ok?”

“I’m sure they are. Don’t worry about them. How are you?”

“I’m ok. A little shaky, but ok.”

“That’s understandable. You were very brave. That was quick thinking with getting Alexei to drink the poison.”

“Um, well, I kind of just panicked, but I’m glad it worked out.” The wind was strong so high up. Estelle sat for a moment and listened to it howl around the tower, and then asked, “Flynn… do you think he was right?”

His head turned to her. “About what?”

“Do you think everyone else would be better off if I died?”

“I don’t believe that for a second.”

“But Alexei had a point. As long as I’m alive, I’m a risk. War might come after me at any time and find a way to get my money. Then everyone is doomed.”

“And if you allowed Alexei to kill you, you would be doomed.”

“Yes, but… but I’m not really important. In the grand scheme of things, it wouldn’t matter if I lived but everyone would be a lot safer if I died.”

Flynn frowned. “What do you mean you’re not important? Would a shepherd not leave his flock of ninety-nine sheep to rescue the one that was lost? Everyone is important.”

“But… I’m just…”

“Just what? An intelligent, compassionate girl? A hard worker? A dedicated student?” His hand pressed against her chest. “The most miraculous thing the Lord ever created is life. He forged this spark that’s thumping inside and gifted it to _you_. Your experiences and choices, hopes and dreams, thoughts and memories… they’re all uniquely your own. No one else before or after you will ever think and feel the same way you do. If you don’t think that’s a miracle worth protecting, then I don’t know what is.”

Estelle folded her arms and buried her hands in her armpits as Flynn pulled away. “But, everyone is like that. If my life is so miraculous, then so is everyone else’s.”

“That’s right. Every life is precious. It is regrettable when someone uses that gift to intentionally harm others and they must be killed to keep them from doing it again, but killing someone on the off chance that they _might_ be used to hurt others? It feels like a callous waste of God’s greatest gift.” He smiled at her. “Although, I admit my feelings are also driven by personal reasons. I’ve grown quite fond of you and have no interest in seeing you come to harm.”

She managed a small smile. “Thanks, Flynn.” She got to her hands and knees and crawled toward the edge of the tower. Near the edge she lay on her stomach, just to give her extra security from the wind and gravity. Up until that skyscraper in Dubai was built, this was the tallest building in the world. She certainly felt like they were in the rafters of the world here, looking down at the lights spreading out for miles and miles across the greater Zaphias area.

From up here, everything looked so small. Somewhere below her, a couple was having a horrible fight that would lead to a break up. Somewhere else, a baby was taking its first steps. In the vast distance she could see, how many people were dying? How many were being born? Hundreds of hearts were being broken but a hundred more were filling with joy. It was impossible to wrap her mind around just how many individual miracles of life were within her vision.

“Flynn,” he sat further back, but he looked up to show he could hear her. “Angels watch the Earth from Heaven, right?”

He nodded. “That’s true.”

“Heaven is even higher up than we are now. Do you think that if they lived closer to Earth they could care more about individual suffering? From so high above it all, how can angels - or even God - truly empathize with the billions of people living below?”

Flynn rose and walked to the edge. He stood beside her, fearlessly staring at the ground more than five hundred metres away. “Perhaps you’re right. Over the years I have noticed a trend that the angels who ultimately fall are the ones spend their leisure time on Earth rather than Heaven. Yuri is a prime example.”

“Maybe if God lived among humans instead of hiding away in His ivory tower, he wouldn’t be so willing to allow horrible things to happen to good people.” She wondered what time it was. It had been dark for hours, but at this time in December, night fell so early that was hardly saying much. Perhaps it was midnight already and they had officially ticked over to December 18th, the day she’d been dreading all year. It had been one whole year. The thought blazed through her mind and she felt so empty she had to grip the ground to keep from feeling like she was already falling.

Flynn sat on the edge and let his legs dangle over the side. “Maybe. What if the reason we haven’t seen Him in Heaven for so long is because He is down here?”

“Hm… well, then He ought to have realized by now how horrible the world can be and do something about it.”

“You know… I’ve actually been thinking about that a lot. Ever since we talked in church, I’ve been trying to find an answer. I don’t know if this will satisfy you, but I think I’ve found one that works for me.”

She pulled her eyes away from the city lights to look at him. Flynn gazed down at the city, his face softly illuminated by the millions of lights drowning out the stars. “What is it?”

“I was thinking about the Book of Job, since we discussed that. It’s not about God’s response to Job, though, since I know you find that insufficient. There’s a line that reads, ‘Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward’. In plainer English, from the moment they are born, humans will confront troubles as readily as a fire begets sparks. And that is true. To live is a constant struggle.”

“That much is obvious. But _why_ must living be such a struggle? If God loves us so much, why does he make us suffer and struggle just to live?”

“So that you can overcome.” Flynn scooped a handful of snow between his bare fingers. It was so cold up here that Estelle couldn’t feel her thighs, but Flynn sat on the edge of the tower in a t-shirt and then tossed the snow off like it was warm dirt.

“I don’t have to breathe. I do because I need air to speak, but I won’t die if I’m underwater for an hour. I don’t have to eat, either. If food is presented to me I may indulge for the flavour, but I will never have to worry about going hungry or feel the pangs of starvation. As angels, we don’t have to fight just to exist, but Humans do. Every few seconds you must pull oxygen from the atmosphere just to keep your body working. Your heart must pump all day to keep your blood flowing. Every day is a fight to keep living.”

Estelle found herself acutely aware of every breath that turned to fog when she breathed out. She had never thought of breathing as a fight to live, but she supposed such a basic thing must look strenuous to a person who had never needed it. It was like being sick, she supposed. She was never more aware of how precious breathing was until her nose was so clogged that every breath was a struggle.

“The more you fight, the stronger you become. Because humans lack great physical strength, they band together to accomplish things collectively. Because they suffer, they are forced to find better ways to live. Thousands of years ago, humans were hunter-gatherers scratching out a living on the plains of Africa. With every generation, they had to fight to keep living. Every trial they overcame took them a step forward. Life has never been easy, and because of that, humans have reached a point where you’re sitting on a tower that pierces the sky. Humans have to fight to live every second of every day, and that’s what makes them so strong. I believe that _that_ is why suffering is allowed in the world. Without it, humanity would have no reason to grow.”

It was too cold to cry. Estelle rubbed her eyes and tried to stop thinking about her mom. “So how does my mom figure into all of this? Did God kill my mother so that I could overcome grief and become stronger?”

Flynn looked down at her and then rested a hand on her back. “I do not believe the Lord individually distributes suffering. Suffering is the fire into which humans are born, and the sparks of that suffering will fly as they will. I am so sorry that your mother was consumed by it, but God cannot put out the fire for it is the force that drives humans onward.”

Before Estelle could stop herself, the tears were falling. Flynn moved away from the edge and pulled her into his arms.

“I - I miss her so much,” she choked out. Somehow, it almost made it worse to think that her mom’s death was nothing more than an unfortunate chance. The cells of her body had decided to turn against her and kill her from the inside out, and neither God nor Satan had anything to do with it. It was just the way the world worked, and that meant she had no one to be angry at. It wasn’t fair, but life generally wasn’t. Life was hard, and that was supposed to make her stronger? Maybe Flynn had a point about adversity driving humanity onward, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about the fate of humanity in general. All she cared about was that she was never going to see her mom again and she’d rather be lazy and stupid and coddled if she could do it by Mom’s side.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered when she was finally able to stop the sobs.

“I don’t mind.”

“I should be over it by now. It’s been a whole year.”

“You mean it’s only been one year.”

“I… suppose.”

“Never feel ashamed for crying over a loss. It means you’ve loved, and there’s nothing shameful about that.” He squeezed her tight and then pulled away. “I’m sorry, but I’m going to have to leave you for now. I’m worried about the others. Will you be all right by yourself?”

Estelle rubbed her eyes again. “Yes. Please make sure they’re ok.”

He stood up and spread his wings. “I’ll be back as soon as I can. Stay away from the edge ”

He flew away, and Estelle pulled herself tighter. It was cold up here, but not unbearable. At least the height assured her that no one else could get to her up here. Safe at last, she settled in to wait.

 

* * *

 

Flynn reached the apartment building just in time to see Yuri’s car zipping away. He took this as a sign they were ok, and followed it from the air until they reached Yuri’s place. As Raven pulled up on the street, Flynn landed on the driveway.

“Where’s Estelle?” Yuri asked as soon as he hopped out of his car.

“Safe. She’s on top of the Sword Stair.”

Yuri widened his eyes. “What? Why would you put her up there?”

“Because the Horsemen know where she lives and no one else is getting up there until it opens in the morning and the elevators are turned on.”

“That’s a good idea,” Judy said. “I’m sure she’ll be safe there.”

“How are you guys?” He noticed Yuri leaning against his car and not putting any weight on his left foot. “What happened with Alexei?”

“Bastard shot me,” Yuri grumbled and pulled his leg up to massage his calf. “Raven stopped the bleeding but it hurts like a bitch. Judy got shot, too.”

She brushed off Flynn’s concerned glance. “I’m fine. He must have picked up that revolver decades ago because it isn’t too powerful. I’ll have a bit of a bruise, but my vest stopped it.”

“Where’s Alexei?”

Raven shrugged. “Back at home, I’d guess. After you and Estelle left, we skedaddled. I don’t think we can kill him.”

“No.” Yuri let his leg drop. “I saw his body disappear. He was dead, but he came back.”

Judy crossed her arms with a frown. “Looks like the Horsemen are more immortal than we thought.”

“Dammit!” Yuri’s car rattled as he punched it. “If Alexei popped up again after dying, what’s to say Cumore won’t? He must be out there too, biding his time until it’s safe to strike.”

“That’s likely,” Raven said. “I was a bit surprised when ya said you killed him.”

“So Cumore’s still out there, Alexei still wants to kill Estelle, and War wants her for… whatever.”

“Actually, we figured that out,” Raven said. “Well, Alexei did. I’ll explain later. For now, we got three bastards on the loose who want a piece of Estelle. What are we gonna do about this?”

“I’m moving into her apartment,” Flynn said.

Yuri snickered. “My, that’s an awful big step. Don’t you think you should buy her dinner first?”

Flynn ignored the jibe. “I don’t care what she says. I don’t feel comfortable leaving her alone. It’s for her own protection.”

“You can’t just bum around her apartment if she doesn’t want you there,” Yuri said.

“I can and I will. My mission is to protect her and I will do whatever it takes to keep her safe. If I didn’t know the Horsemen would just follow her, I’d take her out of the country. If she’s truly uncomfortable with it, I’ll stand guard on the balcony.”

“We can’t just keep guarding her,” Judy said. “The Horsemen are immortal and can keep this up longer than we can. We need to find a permanent solution to keep her safe from them.”

“Like what?” Yuri said bitterly. “Apparently killing them doesn’t work.”

“I’ll enquire in Heaven,” Flynn said. “This mission is becoming far more complex than I originally anticipated. Niren went to ask for further instruction, and he should be back soon. I’ll take care of Estelle tonight, and head to Heaven after escorting her to school. Yuri, can you stake out the school and stand guard during the day? I don’t trust campus security.”

He nodded. “On it.”

“Good. We’ll get this figured out. For now, I’m going back to get Estelle and take her home.”

“Oh, and Flynn? You need to get a cell phone.”

Flynn wrinkled his brow at Yuri. “A what? Why?”

“Because I need to get in touch with you sometimes.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think that’s necessary. I doubt I can get reception in Heaven anyway.” Plus, to be honest the concept of a cell phone was frightening. They had so many little wires and buttons and Flynn knew he’d never be able to keep track of them. He’d only ever used a phone once and it had taken five minutes to figure out how to spin the wheel-thing around just to dial the number.

“Yuri’s right, though,” Raven said. “It would be useful if we can get in touch.” He folded his arms behind his head and leaned against his car. “Tell ya what, Yuri. If you need Flynn, give me a call and I’ll pop up there and find him. Flynn’s right - you can’t call him in Heaven anyway and your prayers wouldn’t be heard. You’re basically on Heaven’s block list.”

“I need to get going,” Flynn said. “I don’t want to leave Estelle alone for too long. Thank you for coming to her aid tonight.”

“Of course,” Judy said with a smile. “Wish her well for me.”

Flynn nodded and then took off.

 

* * *

 

After Flynn left, Judy and Raven followed Yuri inside. He offered to get them drinks, but Judy caught one sight of him limping and forced him to sit on the couch.

“It’s fine,” he protested. “The wound is gone, it’s just a bit sore.”

“I’m not thirsty anyway.” She pulled her legs up on the other side of the couch and then said, “Raven. We need to talk.”

Raven rubbed the back of his neck and avoided meeting their eyes. “Yeah… figured ya’d say that.”

“You should have told me.” Yuri rested his leg on his knee and massaged his aching calf.

Raven sighed and sat cross-legged on the floor. “Sorry. I wasn’t supposed ta tell anyone.”

“So have you been selling us out to Alexei this whole time?” Judy asked.

“No!” He held up his hands. “Well… only when he directly asked me a thing. It’s not just Alexei, though. I’m kinda employed by the lot of ‘em.”

Yuri frowned. He’d never heard of an angel working for the Horsemen. “I think you need to start from the beginning, old man.”

“I guess I can’t protest that anymore, eh? Since I’m older than you.”

Yuri met his cheeky grin with a glare.

Raven’s grin dropped. “Yeah… ok, I’ll explain. I’m an angel, but I’m not part of any brigades like you and Flynn. A long, _long_ time ago, I was assigned to assist the Horsemen on Earth. I’m kind of like… a holy coffee-fetcher. I take messages to and from Heaven and I help them out with human stuff. Like if they get in trouble with the law and need ta be bailed out.”

“You released Cumore from jail,” Judy said.

Raven grimaced. “Yeah, I did.”

“And told him where Estelle lives.” Yuri’s glare deepened.

Raven’s shoulders slumped. “Yeah…. Death gave Conquest and Famine a heads up that War was planning something with some girl named Estellise Heurassein, but he didn’t know what. They got me ta use my police resources ta find out where she lives, works, goes ta school…. I’m sorry, all right? I didn’t know what they wanted with her, and I didn’t ask. I never do. I run errands for these guys ‘cause it’s my job and I’ll get kicked out of Heaven if I don’t, but it’s not like I’m on their side.”

“Then you should have left!” Yuri’s gentle massaging of his calf turned into a painful grip and he quickly let go. “If your job involved doing immoral things, then you should have ditched.”

“I didn’t know!”

“That’s no excuse.” Yuri dropped his leg to the floor. “You didn’t know because you never cared to find out. Don’t try to tell me you had no choice - you had the same choice I did.”

Raven leaned forward and buried his face in his hands. “I know, all right? I know. I’m just… I’m not as brave as you. I’ve spent more time livin’ with humans than most angels, so a lot of times I thought, hey, I could do this. I could ditch the Horsemen and be a normal guy. But then I thought about gettin’ sick and needin’ food ta not die and how no matter what I did or how careful I was I’d just die anyway and… I couldn’t do it. I like humans, but mortality is _terrifying._ ”

It was, but Yuri had taken it rather than keep serving an order he couldn’t follow. He hadn’t even been commanded to do something specifically awful to make him decide to leave. “So what are you gonna do now? Are you finally ready to leave?”

“What’s the point?” Raven raised his head. “If I ditch ‘em now, they’ll just get a new lackey - one super eager ta impress them and follow every order.”

“So you’ll play double agent, but on our side now?” Judy asked.

“Look, I was never actively on their side. I just did things when they told me to, but it’s not like I ever volunteered information. I don’t tell them nothin’, and they don’t tell me nothin’. I honestly didn’t know Conquest was gonna try ta kill Estelle, and War hasn’t said a pip about his plans. But yeah, I’m entirely on your side now. I’ll keep doin’ my job so they don’t suspect nothin’, but I’ll do whatever I can ta keep ‘em away from Estelle.”

“And how do we know we can trust you?” Yuri asked.

He abruptly got to his feet, made a fist, and held it over his heart. “You can trust me. I swear on the grace of an angel. If I ever give you reason to, well… you can kick my ass straight to Hell.”

Yuri met his eyes for a moment, and then nodded. “Judy? That good enough for you?”

She shrugged. “If we can’t trust angels, who can we trust?”

Yuri snorted. “Damn near anyone else. Anyway, that’s good enough for me.”

“Raven, come here.”

Raven rounded the coffee table but as soon as he approached Judy, she grabbed his arm, twisted him around, and forced him to his knees. “Gah!” He bent forward as she yanked his arm back.

A sweet smile never leaving her face, Judy said, “I accept your apology, Raven, but if you ever keep something like this from us again, I’ll make you wish you could die.”

“U-understood…”

 

* * *

 

Estelle stared out the window. Fresh snow drifted to the ground in fluffy flakes. She wasn’t supposed to be staring aimlessly out the window, though. She needed to write a response to the short story she’d just read in French, and then in ten minutes discuss it with the person next to her.

It was so difficult to concentrate on assignments, though. Her mind was caught up in thoughts of death. How close she’d come to it last night, and how close it felt to her heart even a year later. She could still taste the wine on her tongue even though she’d rinsed her mouth a dozen times. In Economics this morning, someone had slammed a locker in the hallway while they were quietly working. Estelle had jumped and taken a few seconds to get her mind off the bullet that would have killed her if Raven hadn’t taken it for her.

The rest of the class was also having trouble concentrating, but for them it was because tomorrow was the last day of school and they were caught up in the excitement of Christmas break. Estelle felt as if her life had been tuned to a different frequency and she was out-of-sync with her classmates. They’d grown up going to the same school together, but now she was a puzzle piece that didn’t quite fit. They discussed their worries about what to pack for vacations to Hawaii or whether they would be getting the new iPhone for Christmas. They were busy planning get-togethers with friends to squeeze between family arrangements or complaining about how difficult it was to figure out what to get their parents for Christmas.

Estelle didn’t blame them for these things. Two years ago, she had been exactly the same. She wouldn’t wish her misery on any of her peers, but she couldn’t help feeling left out by the holiday cheer. She hadn’t been in school a year ago today, because she’d been sitting in the hospital listening to a stony-faced doctor tell her there was nothing else they could do and that at least her mother’s suffering was over. Many of her classmates didn’t know where they would be at this time next year because everyone was heading off to university, but Estelle’s worry was whether or not she’d even be alive next year. She was infinitely lucky she hadn’t died last night, and there was no telling what Alexei or War had planned next.

She almost wished she had swallowed last night. How was she supposed to protect herself from the Horsemen of the Apocalypse? Surely they would win eventually, and if War succeeded, then countless people would suffer and die because she was too cowardly to let herself die before anything worse could happen. She clung to Flynn’s words. Her life was a gift that she should treasure. But why treasure a gift from a person who paid no attention to your life and might not still exist in the first place?

“Ok, class,” Madame said as she rose from her desk. “ _Faites passer les feuilles à votre voisin, se il te plaît_.”

Estelle pulled her gaze from the window and then rubbed her face when she realized she’d become teary-eyed again. She hadn’t been paying attention and now wasn’t sure what Madame had said, but saw her classmates exchanging papers and realized time was up. Her own paper had two lines of writing, one of which stopped mid-sentence. The girl beside her had pushed her own paper toward Estelle and was watching her questioningly.

“Um… I’m sorry,” she muttered and gave her what she had. Estelle looked down at the paper she’d been given and the words seemed to blur together. She was only vaguely aware that she even knew what these words meant.

“Estelle?” Madame had come by their row and saw the almost-blank page on her partner’s desk. “Did you write anything?”

“I… um… no,” she muttered. It wasn’t obvious she’d been crying, was it?

“Why not?”

“I’m sorry. I just… couldn’t concentrate.”

“Do you need to sit in the hall and finish while we go over it?”

She couldn’t meet Madame’s eyes. “Yes, please.”

“Very well.” Madame took Estelle’s partner’s paper and handed it to someone else. She let out a stream of instructions in French that Estelle couldn’t bring herself to try to understand.

Estelle gathered up her belongings and carried them to the hall. She leaned against a locker and supported her paper on a book. Time to get this done. She was a good student. Just concentrate and write the dumb reading response and _dammit stop crying_.

The book thumped on the linoleum floor and she buried her face in her knees. Too many things were happening at once. Her mom was dead, her classmates hated her for getting too much special treatment, and her grades were slipping in the most important term of her life because this was what universities would look at. It wouldn’t even matter because there was a good chance that soon she would die horribly and watch her mother’s money go to an awful man. How could she even begin to concentrate on school when she knew an immortal personification of pure chaos was trying to kill her?

She made her decision in a snap. Fighting back tears, she shoved her supplies into her backpack and took off down the hall. When she reached the back door, Estelle did the most against-school-rules thing she had ever done and snuck out.

Guilt gnawed at her mind as she made her way to the bus stop. Flynn wanted her to be escorted at all times, but she just didn’t feel like she could deal with anyone right now. Besides, she could pray to him at any time. If she saw the tiniest flicker of trouble, she’d pray to him for help but for now she was happy to be alone.

It was the middle of the morning so most people were at work or school. The bus was nearly empty and then she had no trouble finding a seat on the subway after transferring at the station. A retired couple on the other side of the car gave her a look and she knew they were wondering why a girl in a school uniform was out of school on a Thursday morning, but she ignored them. She didn’t have the strength to deal with anyone on today of all days.

At her stop, she slung her backpack over her shoulder and silently walked along the street. Her shoes slipped on the freshly fallen snow and she pulled her scarf tighter around her nose. The sounds of the city seemed to fade as she walked under the stone arch marking the entrance to the cemetery. Estelle’s feet led her through the winding paths without needing input from her head since she’d made so many trips here ever since she could remember. The ground crunched because of both snow and gravel, and then she turned off the path and walked across the snowy grass toward a tree.

Mom had picked this spot when Dad died. She said it was the best available plot because there was a bench under a tree nearby, and it would be nice to have a place to sit. As she did every time, Estelle dutifully brushed snow off the stone bench and took a seat. Five feet away was the smooth granite slab bearing the two names of the people she wanted to see more than anyone else in the world. Dead flowers sat in a ceramic vase, and her stomach squirmed with guilt for not replacing them. Snow piled on top of the grave.

Estelle leaned against the tree and lost herself in thought. There wasn’t a plot picked out for her, yet. No one had thought she needed to worry about it for decades. If she did die, either from Famine, Conquest, or War, she hoped they could bury her here. It was not only a place where she could stay with her parents, but a place that had many bittersweet memories.

She remembered her mom bringing her here as a little girl and telling her stories about Dad. They’d have picnics in front of the grave and Mom read her storybooks that she said were Dad’s favourites when she was just a baby. Mom had always framed these visits as happy occasions. They weren’t going there to be sad, she’d say, they were going to spend time with him.

Estelle had tried to do the same this past year, but with her mom in the ground instead of beside her, it was so much harder to pretend they were a happy family of three. She didn’t have any memories of her dad, so until her mom died she had never truly felt the grief of loss. Maybe that was why she finally understood why she often caught Mom crying in the evenings after their ‘happy’ visits.

Estelle couldn’t even wait to get home to start crying. 

 


	14. And So This is Christmas

After saying goodbye to Estelle at school, Flynn flew to Heaven. It was always a comfort to return to Heaven after facing stress on Earth. He may not always agree with the decisions of the upper angels, but it was home.

"Good morning, Sodia," he said when he spotted her in the main hall. "How are you?"

"I am well. Nothing of note has been happening in Heaven. Is everything going well with your mission?" When his smile dropped, Sodia frowned. "I see. What's wrong?"

Flynn leaned against a marble pillar. "I'm worried I won't be able to protect her. It's one thing to defend a human from other humans or even demons, but these are the Horsemen of the Apocalypse I'm trying to contend with. She's in danger from three of them at once and I don't know how much longer I can continue to keep her safe."

"Perhaps you should ask Niren to assign additional angels to the case. Working together, I'm sure you can protect her."

"That's a good idea. So far I'm being assisted by Yuri, a human police officer, and another angel."

"Oh?" She tilted her head. "When did another angel get involved?"

"Have you ever heard of someone named Schwann?"

Sodia nodded slowly. "Yes… that name sounds familiar. I don't believe he's from our brigade, though."

"No, he's not. He seems to have stumbled into this mission by accident, but I appreciate his help."

"Certainly it's better to accept help from a fellow angel rather than a demon."

Flynn frowned. "Is this about Yuri again?"

"I can't believe you're still associating with him. I've warned you, Flynn. Nothing good comes from working with demons. He made you start questioning."

"I suppose so…" Flynn still wasn't entirely sure that questioning was inherently bad. They criticized humans who blindly followed orders, but then they were supposed to do it themselves? Supposedly, it was different for angels. Humans should question their orders because the person they came from was fallible, but angel orders came from God, which meant they were always divine truth. He did have to wonder, though, why God had given angels free will if He wished them to mindlessly follow any and all directions.

"Go talk to Niren. Explain your difficulty with protecting Estelle and ask for backup. Then you won't have to rely on Yuri."

"I'll do that. Thank you." It was more because he'd like additional backup than to avoid Yuri, but he didn't want to start another argument. He quickly made his way to Niren's office and entered after knocking.

"'Morning, Flynn," Niren said while standing at his desk and shuffling papers around. "How's the mission?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about, sir."

Niren finally looked up from his desk. "Not going well?"

"Three out of four Horsemen want her dead, sir. They're stronger than an angel alone, and I don't know how I can continue to protect her by myself. I would like to request back-up."

Niren looked down with a scowl and shoved some papers in a filing cabinet. "I'm not sure I can get away with that."

"Why not, sir?"

"According to Phaeroh, we take orders from God, not Death, and God has given no commands to protect the girl."

"But… she's going to be killed if we don't do something."

"I know. I'm all in favour of sending a battalion down there to keep her safe, and I will if Phaeroh decides not to give any orders. After all, Phaeroh didn't specifically order me  _not_  to help her."

"Sir, I'm pretty sure that was implied in telling us God has given us no commands."

"If he wanted it to be a commandment, he should have written it on a stone tablet."

Flynn shifted his weight and crossed his arms. "Sir… it feels like you're suggesting we go against God's will."

"Heh…" Niren smirked to himself. "Wouldn't dream of it. Before I make a decision, though, Phaeroh wants to talk to you."

Flynn startled. "Me?"

"You know more about this mission than anyone. Phaeroh wants to hear it from you before he decides."

"But I'm not…. I mean, I'm not nearly high-ranked enough to meet with an archangel."

"Relax. He just wants to hear it from the horse's mouth. Go now and see what he has to say, and report back to me. Don't stress it."

"All right, sir. Thank you for your confidence in me."

He left the office still buzzing with excitement. He'd seen archangels before, but never actually spoken to one. They sat at the right hand of the Lord Himself. He was as eager to have a chance to speak to one as he was terrified.

Outside of headquarters, he crossed the lawn at a brisk pace and entered the gold-paved path that wound through the garden. Every species of plant in the world was represented somewhere in here, and he would have gotten hopelessly lost if the path didn't automatically lead him to precisely where he needed to go. Fronds and vines arched over his head. He passed a meadow with a thousand species of wildflower and beyond it a coniferous forest stretched into the distance. The path took him to a staircase, and he almost feared slipping on the slick golden steps.

At the top of the stairs, he found himself on a barren cliff. A deep blue sky speckled with stars and smeared with nebulae domed over his head and in the distance it faded into the pink and orange clouds that formed the floor below the cliff. Flynn had never feared heights because his wings were a constant safety line, but the expanse of space around him made his perceptions spin with the feeling he was staring into eternity.

Light blazed so brightly he had to look away. What he'd seen in that split second were wheels of fire spinning around and through each other. Each wheel was covered in eyes and in the centre of them all was a light so blinding it looked like a sun.

"You Are The Angel Flynn?" Each word was a crack of thunder.

He still didn't dare raise his head. Not only was the light painful to behold, but he felt compelled to keep his head bowed in respect. "I am."

"Then Speak. For What Reason Should This Child Receive The Protection Of Heaven?" The sky created a space around them so vast Flynn wondered if this was infinity, but still Phaeroh's voice seemed to fill every corner.

"Because her life is threatened by our own servants. The Horsemen Famine, Conquest, and War all wish to do her harm. They belong to the orders of Heaven and thus they are our responsibility. The girl is a baptized child of God and it is our duty to allow her to live the life he Lord gave her without interference from celestial affairs."

"And Why Do The Horsemen Target This Girl?"

"War wishes to use her to fund an anarchist plot that will destabilize world peace. Famine and Conquest wish to kill her before he can do that."

"If War Is Allowed To Succeed, The Seals On The Scroll of Judgement Will Weaken."

"Yes. That is why we must protect her." The wheels spun and Flynn risked glancing up for a second. The light streaked across his eyes and he saw whirls of green and magenta even after clamping his eyes shut.

"The Horsemen Should Not Interfere In The Affairs Of Humans."

Flynn could only nod in agreement.

"They Must Not Be Allowed To Kill Her. And Yet, We Cannot Kill Them Nor Guarantee They Will Follow Orders. A Decision Has Been Made."

Flynn glanced up as much as he dared. "Yes?"

"The Girl Must Be Killed."

His head shot up the rest of the way and then he held up his hand to block the light. "What?!"

"Take Your Sword And Strike Her Down Before The Horseman Can Weaken The Seals."

"How can that be your decision? She's innocent! She deserves life!"

The light flashed and increased its intensity. Flynn could feel the scorching heat of fire on his face. "There Is None Righteous, No, Not One."

Flynn recognized the quote from the Book of Romans, and he even recalled quoting it himself in discussion with Estelle. He didn't like it nearly as much when it was used to justify Estelle's murder. "That may be so, but just because she suffers from human fallibility doesn't mean she deserves to die!"

"If She Has Accepted Christ As Her Saviour, Her Soul Will Be Welcomed Into Heaven. Death Will Bring Her Closer To God And Is To Be Celebrated."

"But she has her whole life ahead of her. She's only a child!"

"Silence. The Decision Has Been Made. Go Now And Kill The Girl. That Is Your Divine Order."

"But-"

Light and heat blasted across Flynn as thunder smashed and nearly deafened him. "There Is Nothing More To Say."

Flynn hung his head. "I understand. Thank you." He swivelled away from the cliff and began the journey back along the golden path. The whole way, his mind was too busy grappling with what he'd been told to appreciate the brilliant flora.

He was still in a state of shock from the orders he'd received and by the time he'd made it back to headquarters he hadn't even begun to figure out what he should do. Niren had said to report back to him, but he was afraid of what Niren would tell him to do. What if Niren directly told him to ignore the order? He couldn't do that. It was a direct order from God! Niren would get in so much trouble if he tried to defy God. Even worse, Flynn was actually more afraid of going to him and being told that he  _should_  follow his orders and kill Estelle.

Sodia was waiting for him in the main entrance. "I heard you met with Phaeroh. How did it go? What was it like?"

Flynn stopped next to a tinkling fountain. "It… went fine."

Sodia frowned and leaned forward. "Flynn? What's wrong?"

He stared at a swirl of marble on the floor. "I'm not sure what to do."

"What did Phaeroh say?"

"He told me… he told me to kill Estelle."

"Oh, dear." She rested her hand on his shoulder. "I'm very sorry, Flynn. I know you were fond of her."

"I can't do it."

"What are you talking about? You were given a direct order."

"An order to kill an innocent girl. How can I follow that?"

Sodia dropped her hand. "You can follow it because it was what you were told to do. You were given a mission directly from an archangel. Do you know how many angels would love to be given such a thing?"

He could tell from her face that she was one such angel. Until recently, he knew he would have been the same. "But how can I celebrate being given an order when that order is to murder a friend?"

"It isn't murder. You're freeing her from being used for wickedness."

"It's still murder. How could this be God's plan? How can you so easily accept that the Lord would demand she give her life?"

Sodia hesitated for a moment and then said, "You…  _do_  know what happened with Jesus Christ, right?"

"It's not the same! Estelle is not the Messiah and she is not the daughter of God. She is a human girl - a child - who's suffered enough."

"I'm not saying I like it, but orders are orders. How can you even consider defying a direct order from God? Do you really think your judgement is better than His?"

"Of course not," Flynn said automatically, but he wasn't sure what he meant. No matter who the orders came from, he still could bring himself to think killing Estelle was justified.

"Just go and get it over with. Don't give yourself the chance to doubt."

"Sodia, I'm really not sure if I can go through with this."

"Then tell Niren to send somebody else."

He couldn't do that, because somebody else would definitely go through with it and probably not explain properly. If Estelle had to die, he wanted to be able to talk to her first. She at least deserved a full explanation, and someone who would make it as painless as possible. He took a deep breath. "All right. I'm going."

"Good. You're doing the right thing."

"Yeah…"

* * *

 

Estelle sat in silence for a long time. The dark grey of headstones and dead trees clashed with the white ground and sky. It created a monochrome that was so much easier to process than colour and vibrancy at a time like this.

Her nose ran because of the cold, but it also ran because of the tears. She cried over things that had happened and things that would never happen again, and when she was out of tears she sat in silence and watched snow drift to the grave.

When her stomach growled, she realized she must have been out here for almost two hours already. She dug through her backpack and found the lunch she'd packed, and also pulled out her cellphone. With a pang of guilt, she scrolled through a list of text messages.

 _Where were u at break?_  Rita sent, followed by,  _y did u miss ap calc and chem?_  And then,  _lunch is almost over where r u? R u ok?_

Then there was a text from Yuri,  _rita says ur not school. i didnt c u leave. where r u? R u hurt?_

Finally, one from Judy:  _Estelle, please respond asap. We're all worried about you_.

Estelle's hand tightened around her phone. She felt awful for making her friends worry like this, and quickly typed a message.  _I'm ok. Sorry for worrying you all. I was having trouble coping with school today and left to be a lone for a little while. I promise I'm ok, but I'd like to be alone for a bit longer._ She sent it to everyone, and then slipped her phone into her backpack.

While it buzzed with responses no doubt demanding she tell them where she was, Estelle ate her lunch. When she was done with that, she pulled out her French assignment and began to work. She felt calmer now, but maybe she was just empty after so much emotion drained through her tears. Estelle wore a tiny smile as she worked on the assignment. She could almost picture her mom and dad standing next to her and helping her work.

When she finished, she put it away and looked up. Someone else had come to visit the cemetery today. A tall man slowly strode between the rows of graves. Estelle watched him approach, and for a second she panicked when she made out white hair and blood-red clothes. He wasn't Alexei, though. She'd never seen him before in her life, but as he approached, she couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been around her before.

She was beginning to think he was just another griever on his way to a grave when he stopped in front of her bench. He turned his emotionless eyes on her and said, "You are Estellise Heurassein, are you not?"

She tucked her legs under the bench. "Um… yes."

"I have no intention of hurting you." He took a step forward and sat on the bench. Despite how near he was, she couldn't feel any heat radiating from his body.

"Hello…" she said nervously. "Um… are you visiting someone here?"

The man sat+ perfectly straight and gazed across the rows and rows of graves as he spoke. "No. I enjoy visiting cemeteries. They are the only places where my presence is accepted."

"Why would you not be accepted anywhere else?"

"I find that humans are reluctant to tolerate my company. In graveyards, I am not loved but visitors accept the shadow I cast on the world."

Estelle's eyes fixed on the grave in front of her. She knew who her visitor was. "I'm not sure I accept it. Why are you here? You… you're the one who took my Mom and Dad away."

There was a long silence broken only by Estelle's sniffling from the cold. Then Death said, "I apologize. I do not choose who to take away. I only bring release when the mortal body has reached its limit."

"Then who does? Flynn said God doesn't personally choose who to kill, either. Who decides who lives and who dies?"

Death tilted his head to the pale sky. "I do not know. Perhaps it falls to random chance."

Estelle slid her cold hands into the opposite sleeves and hugged herself. "That's a horrible system. Good people die and bad people keep living. There's no justice to it at all."

"Justice is an idea created by living humans. Why would such a thing exist in death?"

"I… guess you're right." Estelle's eyes drifted from her knees to the grave and then to Death. "So if it doesn't matter to you who lives and who dies, are you here to kill me, too? Like Famine and Conquest did?"

"No."

She sighed in relief.

"I oppose War's scheme that will weaken the seal, and I oppose my brethren taking action that will impact human lives. We should not involve ourselves in the affairs of humans."

"So… I  _shouldn't_  let myself die to keep War from using me?"

"Whether you choose to live or die is up to you."

"But you're Death. You know better than anyone who should die."

"As I have said, I am not in the business of making such decisions. If you do die, rest assured I will be there to collect you."

She still didn't know what to do. Flynn's words gave her hope, but she also recalled he'd admitted his feelings were biased by his personal affection for her. "Um… Mr. Death, can I ask you… what is dying like?" Last year, the doctor had told her that mom's suffering was over. As much as she was interested for herself, she also had to know if that was true.

But instead, Death said, "I cannot say, for I have never died."

Her head fell. "Oh."

"But I have witnessed living beings die more times than there are stars in the sky, and it appears to be a welcome relief from pain. I would suppose that dying is a misery, but death is sweet."

"I see… thank you." She didn't like the misery part, but it was nice to think it was sweet in the end. "Hypothetically speaking,  _can_  you die?" She was curious, because she could have sworn she'd killed Alexei last night and wanted to know if she just hadn't been thorough enough or if it was a pointless endeavour in the first place."

"It is possible for us to be killed, but such a fate would not stick. We would be reformed shortly, as you learned last night and as your friend Yuri will no doubt discover."

"Yuri? What does he have to do with this?"

"I believe Famine is keen to avenge Yuri's attempt on his life, just as both Conquest and War wish to make him suffer for harming one of their own."

Estelle was confused for a second, and then said, " _Yuri_  is the one who killed Cumore?"

Death turned his red eyes to her. "Were you not aware?"

"No!" He should have told her. Cumore was relevant to her life more than anyone else. She didn't know what she'd do with that information, but she thought she deserved to know and not have things hidden from her.

"Hm. Perhaps he did not wish to worry you."

"He still should have told me." What else didn't she know?

Death rose. "I have matters I must attend to."

"Um… yes. Thank you for talking to me. You're not as scary as I imagined."

"Hm." He turned his gaze to the snowy rows of stones. "Many people have that reaction. Take care, Estellise Heurassein. If we meet again soon, may it be on your own terms."

Estelle watched him walk away until the falling snow obscured his figure.

She ought to go back to school. Maybe if she went back and explained to the principle how she felt, he'd dismiss the detentions she must have racked up for skipping school. Surely being shaken by nearly being murdered on the anniversary of your mother's death counted as 'extenuating circumstances'. Despite herself, she couldn't muster the energy to get up and leave. Instead, she leaned against the tree and shuffled snow around with her feet.

Mom used to love classic movies. Estelle remembered spending many evenings curled on the couch with her and complaining that the movies were all in black and white. She hadn't appreciated them much when she was six. Every year, Mom dug out her old VHS tapes of movies from before even she was born, until the year Estelle bought them all on DVD for Christmas and Mom was forced to admit the quality was better. That had been a mistake, though, because then Mom had access to special features, which meant several more hours of commandeering the living room while Estelle wanted to have friends over during Christmas break.

Sometimes Estelle did watch the behind the scenes features with her, though. One year she'd been meticulously decorating a gingerbread house while Mom watched  _Meet Me in St. Louis_  for approximately the 112th time. Estelle found it interesting that the original lyrics of  _Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas_  were deemed too depressing, especially considering the finished song was plenty downbeat as it was. She now found herself wishing the original lyrics had been recorded at some point, because the version she heard on the radio all season about hanging shining stars on highest boughs didn't resonate with her.

_Have yourself a merry a little Christmas_

_It may be your last_

_Next year we may all be living in the past…_

Maybe this would be her last Christmas. On one hand, it was nice to know for certain. Two years ago, the chemo had seemed to be going well and they had been optimistic they had many more Christmases together in store. Then, Mom died a week before the next Christmas. Estelle spent Christmas Day at Rita's house at Mrs. Mordio's insistence, and spent the entire time curled up in an armchair in the corner while letting her mind drift to happier days in the past. Maybe if they'd known the year before would be their last Christmas together, they would have savoured it better or done something different. If someone was going to kill her, she was glad that at least Rita had some warning that she might be spending next Christmas with one less friend.

She let the minutes trickle by. She'd been out here for hours already and her limbs were nearly numb. It felt ok, though. Her problem today was feeling too many things at once, so she could handle numbing some of her body if it would help numb her heart. She realized just how long she'd been out here when someone else walked along the row to greet her.

"Thought I'd find you here," Rita said and then took a seat beside her. She lightly punched Estelle's shoulder. "You had us all worried sick, you know. When you didn't show up at break I thought you might be busy, but then you missed AP calc  _and_  chem and I knew something was wrong."

"I'm sorry for worrying you."

"It's ok. Judy and Yuri are still kind of mad even after you texted us back, but I knew you were ok and told them to stop freaking out."

"You did?"

Rita smiled gently and leaned against Estelle. "Of course. When I realized what the date was, I felt stupid for wondering in the first place."

Estelle hung her head. "I ran away. I couldn't deal with school and I ditched. I'm going to be in so much trouble."

"Tell 'em you got kidnapped by Cumore. I bet Judy would give you an official report and everything as an alibi."

"Rita, I think that might be excessive."

"Hmph. Well, whatever. Don't even worry about it. You should skip school tomorrow, too. Not like we're gonna be doing anything on the last day. I'd skip if my parents would let me get away with it."

"I don't know…"

"You could use the break."

"Maybe."

They sat in silence for a little while, until Rita shivered and scooted closer. "Aren't you freezing out here?"

"Not really. Heh-heh, maybe I've gone numb."

"Estelle… I really hate that all this is happening to you." She smashed her mittened hands onto her thighs. "Like you didn't have enough to deal with after your mom got sick, and now all this crap with Cumore and Alexei." She growled and added, "If I get my hands on those bastards I'll knock their lights out!"

Estelle looked down at her and smiled, and then leaned over to wrap her arms around her. "Thank you, Rita."

Rita stiffened at the sudden affection. "I'm serious!"

"I know. I just want you to know… you're my best friend. I love you so much. You've been so supportive and wonderful throughout all of this."

"Er… yeah… what's this about, Estelle? Are you ok?"

"It's just… if something does happen to me and this is our last Christmas, then I want you to know how special you are to me."

Rita pushed her away. "Then stop. Nothing's going to happen to you, got it?"

"But maybe-"

"I  _said_  nothing's gonna happen!"

Estelle sighed with a tiny smile. "Ok, then."

"Let's just focus on having as happy a holiday as possible this year, and worry about next Christmas when we get there. Do you want to head in now?"

"Um… I think I'd rather stay for a little longer. You can go; I don't mind."

Rita's hand slipped across Estelle's lap to curl around hers. "No, that's ok. I'll wait with you."

* * *

 

Flynn sat on the top of the Sword Stair, lost in thought. Snow slowly drifted onto his head and covered the cement platform with a fresh dusting of white. It was hard to tell the time of day because the sun was blocked by a solid white ceiling of cloud but it must be mid-afternoon by now. He had a lot to decide, but in the hours he'd spent up here, he hadn't come to a conclusion.

It came down to three facts that could not possibly come to an agreement in his mind.

One: disobeying God's direct orders was the ultimate defiance and was morally wrong.

Two: God had ordered Estelle's death.

Three: killing Estelle was  _also_ morally wrong.

No matter how many times he turned these facts over in his mind, tried to introduce new variables, or looked at things from a different perspective, he couldn't make this work. He could not, under any circumstances, bring himself to kill Estelle. It would be wrong. But if he didn't, he would be defying the Lord. That would also be wrong.

He also had to think about the very fact that he'd received such an order. Why would the Lord order Estelle to die? Sodia had said arranging sacrifices was not out of character for Him, but Flynn refused to believe this was an equivalent situation. The reason Jesus died was so that no one else after him would have to make a sacrifice again. To order Estelle's death just because it was the easier option compared to continuing to protect her just didn't seem like something the Lord would order. It was cowardly and it was cruel. That left him with two options: either God had reverted to the cruelty of the Old Testament and it would be questionable to throw his unwavering love and support behind Him, or the order had come from Phaeroh alone, not God, because God didn't exist.

That  _couldn't_  be true. He could feel God's existence in his soul, but he could feel just as strongly that this order couldn't possibly have come from the God he loved. So if God was there, why wasn't He saying anything? Why did He let Phaeroh give such an order in His name? Had He abandoned them?

It wasn't just this. So many times he'd defended the Lord to Yuri or Estelle. The mere fact that the Horsemen were on Heaven's payroll didn't seem right. Why should Flynn support that? They were going to kill people! Branding Yuri a demon just because he left Heaven didn't feel right either. It wasn't like he had joined Hell. Not being on your side didn't automatically make someone your enemy. Flynn could feel his conviction slipping away like sand in an hourglass.

Words that were not his own broke into his mind and tore his focus from his frantic thoughts.

 _Flynn, I don't know if the others tried to contact you, but I'm ok. So, don't worry about me. I skipped school and the others got a little worried. I'm in the cemetery with Rita and everything is ok_.

Flynn looked in her direction. From up here, he could see the large patch of white where no buildings broke the terrain that marked the city's largest cemetery. He ought to talk to her and warn her what was going on. He stood, brushed away snow, and forced his wings out. Snow crunched as he ran off the side of the tower and glided into the air. The cold air made his eyes water as he aimed for the cemetery. His mind focused on Estelle, and warning her that Heaven had ordered her death. If he didn't go through with this, Phaeroh would no doubt send someone else.

There was no 'if', though. No matter what happened, he knew he wasn't going to do it. He would not -  _could_  not - kill Estelle. Either God was wrong or God had abandoned them.

His wings flickered and he dropped a few feet before managing to stabilize them. Flying had never been such a strain. Every beat of his wings exhausted him and he felt like they'd been turned to tissue paper. Flynn glanced over his shoulder and could see the city through this his fading wings.  _No_.

But of course they were fading. His power came from his faith in God, and that was melting away like snow in April. He passed over the cemetery and spotted Estelle and Rita up ahead. As soon as he saw her, his thoughts about how wrong it would be to kill her solidified. That weight was enough to drag down the lingering faith supporting him, and his wings faded like smoke.

Flynn dropped and hit the ground with a splatter of snow. The girls jumped up and Estelle shouted, "Flynn! Are you ok?"

He rolled over with a groan. An ache radiated from his shoulder from his fall, but thankfully he had enough power left to quickly wipe it away. Estelle crouched and pulled him into a kneel.

"What happened?" she asked while Rita watched with shock.

Flynn looked to the sky, which had never seemed so distant. He flexed the invisible muscles, but his wings wouldn't come. "I… fell."

Rita snorted. "We noticed."

"No, I…" Discomfort stabbed his knees. It took him a few seconds to realize it was cold from the snow soaking through his khakis. His bare fingers were buried in snow, and an uncomfortable ache crept into them. If this was cold, he didn't like it. He wanted to go back to the warmth of Heaven, but he couldn't. His wings were  _gone_. "I  _fell_."

Estelle gazed at him with dawning realization. "Oh, no… but how… why…? Sit down." She pulled him up and to the bench she and Rita had been sitting on.

"What do you mean you fell?" Rita asked. "You mean, like Yuri? What the hell?!"

Flynn sat between them and stared at the ground. He was still in too much shock to comprehend just why Estelle was sitting in a graveyard. "I received orders I simply could not follow. It occurred to me that either God was not worthy of my obedience, or He didn't exist. As I was flying to you, those thoughts took hold and I just… my wings vanished and I fell."

"Oh, Flynn." Estelle hugged him. "I'm so sorry."

"How could this…? I've been an angel my  _entire life_. It's been thousands of years. What am I supposed to do now? Everything I've worked for is a lie and I can never go home again."

"I'm sorry," Estelle whispered again and hugged him tighter. "I wish I could help, but I don't feel any more sure of myself."

The only thing Flynn knew for certain was that he would never go to Hell. He may have lost his faith, but he would  _not_  become a demon. He would have to become like Yuri and slowly turn into a human. It could be worse, right? At least he wouldn't have to watch Yuri age and die without him. Flynn leaned forward and hid his face in his hands. "Oh, God."

"What order were you given?" Rita asked, watching with discomfort. "I mean, it would have to be  _really_  bad for you to go AWOL, right?"

Flynn pried his head up. He needed to warn Estelle even though it killed him to say it. "Estelle… the archangel Phaeroh has decided you are too much of a risk. He ordered me to kill you."

Estelle gaped at him while Rita jumped up.

"No way!" Rita shouted.

Estelle pulled her hands to her lap. "So that's it, then, isn't it? I am a liability. Even Heaven agrees."

"Estelle, no." Rita stood in front of her and grabbed her shoulders. "You don't have to listen to those assholes. Flynn didn't!"

"I couldn't bring myself to accept their decision," Flynn said. "Estelle, I still don't believe it's right for you to die."

"Why did Heaven change its mind?" Rita turned her furious gaze on him. "I thought they sent you to protect her in the first place."

"The original order came from my direct superior, not from the upper levels of Heaven's hierarchy. I received a warning from Death and my commander, Niren, told me to heed it and protect you."

Estelle's head snapped to him. "You received  _what?_  When was this?"

"The night you were hospitalized. He came to speak with me."

"Why didn't you tell me Death himself was involved?"

Flynn instinctively pulled aware from her anger. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to frighten you."

Rita dropped her arms because Estelle was angry enough on her own now. "You and Yuri both hid things from me! It's  _my_  life. Don't I deserve to know what's going on?"

"I'm sorry."

"That's not good enough!"

His soul was too empty to formulate a proper response. "It's Heaven protocol to not tell humans any more than they must know."

"I'm so tired of 'Heaven protocol'." Estelle took a deep breath that turned into fog. Her eyes were locked on the gravestone immediately in front of them, and Flynn finally noticed whose grave they were sitting by. "I'm tired of being kept in the dark."

"I'm sorry. I thought it would be best for you."

"Best for me? Heaven doesn't care what's best for me. If it cared at all then you would have been here  _last_  year, when I  _needed_  you!"

Flynn leaned forward and stared at the ground. "You're right."

Estelle was taken aback by his acceptance of her anger. "Well - yes! I am! This whole month, I've been pushed around and lied to and some people want me dead and others want me alive but no one will tell me  _why_  or what's going on! I'm not a child - I deserve to know what's happening to my life."

Flynn shivered. "Nothing Heaven has done to you is just. I'm so sorry I wasn't here last year to help your mother. I'm sorry I'm so useless. I'm sorry Heaven has never helped you. I'm sorry I pledged my faith to an organization that won't even help people suffering. I wish there was any way I could possibly make this all up to you, but I just… I don't know what to do."

Estelle hung her head. "Me, neither."

Rita looked between the pair with worry. "So… so what do we do now? If Heaven wants Estelle dead… and the Horsemen still want her dead…"

Flynn met Estelle's eyes for a moment. "I don't know," he admitted. "I don't know what to do about anything."

They heard a crunch and turned their heads to see another angel land in the snow behind the tree. Flynn stood. "Sodia? What are you doing here?"

"You took a long time to return. I was worried." She rounded the tree as her wings folded away. "Good afternoon."

"Sodia, this is Estelle and Rita." He gestured at them. "And this is my friend, Sodia."

Estelle rose and held out her hand. "It's… nice to meet you."

Sodia briefly shook it. "I have heard much about you, Estellise." Then she turned sharply to Flynn. "What happened? Why have you taken so long to complete your mission and return?"

"I… Sodia, I have decided it isn't right. Go tell Niren what happened."

"Why can't you tell him yourself?"

Flynn couldn't meet her eyes. "I cannot return to Heaven."

"What do you… no." She gasped. "You can't have! Flynn, tell me you didn't."

"Estelle isn't-"

"Show me your wings, Flynn."

He cringed. "I cannot."

Sodia closed her eyes with a frown. "I can't believe you chose this path. Flynn… it's not too late. I can help you find your way back."

"I'm not even sure I want to return anymore."

Her eyes snapped open and Flynn forced himself to meet them. They measured each other up for a long moment, and then she said, "I see. Then you leave me no choice but to complete the mission that was assigned to you."

"What do you - no!"

Sodia pulled her sword out of air. "You should have done this hours ago, Flynn. This is a direct command from the archangel Phaeroh." She took a step toward Estelle, who nervously backed toward the grave.

"But that doesn't mean it's right!" Flynn reached for his own sword, but it wouldn't come. Dammit! Yuri had been smart and physically brought his when he left, but Flynn had fallen with less warning. He stepped toward Sodia, but she shoved him with a force that surprised him. He landed hard in the snow and cursed his newfound weakness.

"Get the hell away from her!" Rita screamed and tackled her. Sodia brushed her aside with even more ease.

Estelle stood with her back to the grave, trembling as Sodia rested her hand on her shoulder. "Is this… really what Heaven wants?"

"I'm so sorry," Sodia said. "Your sacrifice will be honoured. You are going to God's side now; that should be a comforting thought."

"Sodia, don't do this." Flynn scrambled to his feet, but he was too slow.

The blade seemed to sink into her in slow motion. Estelle's eyes widened in shock and her mouth parted in a soft gasp. The sword slid out of her stomach and she dropped to her knees. Flynn threw himself at Sodia and managed to knock her to the ground, but it was too late. The deed was done.

"Don't get mad at me!" She easily pushed him off. "This was the will of God. You should accept that and return to Heaven with me!"

"Get out of here!" he cried. "You stabbed an innocent girl. I  _refuse_  to believe this is God's will, and if it is then He's no God of mine."

Sodia smacked him. "Fine. Become a demon. See if I care, you traitor." Her wings spread and she took to the skies. Flynn had half a mind to try to chase her, but there were more pressing concerns.

"Estelle!" Rita screamed. Estelle curled on her side, clutching her stomach with her face contorted in agony. Bright red blood soaked into the freshly fallen snow.

"Move back." Flynn rolled her onto her back and pressed his hands against the wound. It was like trying to hold back a geyser. His fingers had been frozen from the cold, but the hot blood quickly thawed them as it spurted around his hands.

"Come on…" he whispered, urging the light to appear. A flash of gold crackled between his fingers and then died. "No, not now. Please, I just need power for one more thing." He focused every ounce of energy into his hands and forced the light to return. It fluttered and he didn't know if it was even doing anything.

In the background, he heard Rita babbling into her cellphone. "…friend's been stabbed! We need an ambulance right now! …Mount Pleasant Cemetery, in the K section… No, the attacker is gone, we're totally safe now…"

Flynn forced more energy out of his fingers but it felt like he was wringing it from a drying sponge. He  _thought_  the bleeding was slowing, but it might just be wishful thinking. He tried again to summon more healing power, but all he got was a pathetic spark and then nothing.

"Keep pressing," Rita barked. "The dispatcher says to keep putting pressure on the wound until the paramedics get here. They're coming."

There was nothing else he could do. He didn't have any angel healing power left. He'd made his choice to turn away from Heaven, and now he had to handle this like a human. Flynn pushed harder to try to quell the blood.

"It's going to be ok," he muttered more to himself than Estelle. "The human doctors are coming."

* * *

 

Yuri put a bowl of food down for Repede and then stretched. All things considered, it hadn't been a very busy day; it just felt like it because he'd been worried. He'd staked out a coffee shop across the street from Estelle's school to keep watch during the day. The staff gave him dirty looks for not buying anything, so he bought a peppermint hot chocolate and a box of forty of those little doughnut balls in a variety of flavours. Then the staff gave him judgemental looks for being a grown man who sat in a coffee shop all morning staring out the window at a high school and eating forty doughnut holes all by himself.

All had been quiet on the school front until he got a text from Rita around lunch saying Estelle was missing. He was certain he hadn't seen her exit the front door nor seen any of their usual suspects enter, but there were other doors. After that, he'd driven all over downtown trying to spot her on the off chance she was on the street, until finally getting a text saying she was ok. He was pretty annoyed with her for scaring him, but there was nothing else to be done so he'd popped over to the Comet to fill in until he got more news.

They hadn't needed him after a few more staff members showed up for shift, so he headed home. It was almost five now, which meant it was almost dark. It never ceased to amaze him how early it got dark in the winter. In the summer he didn't feel the need to go patrolling until past nine, but now the street lights were turning on and he hadn't even had dinner yet.

With all this Estelle business, he hadn't had much of a chance to do his normal patrolling around the seedier areas of downtown. Yuri ignored the worries that he wasn't fit enough to keep doing that. He wasn't fully human  _yet_. He could still help people. He could still make a difference.

"You ok by yourself tonight?" he asked Repede, who paid him no heed in favour of food. "I'll take that as a yes."

He was about to grab his coat when someone knocked on the door. Probably Flynn, considering all his friends were normal people who would text him before showing up. A snarky greeting was already on his lips when he opened the door, and then someone punched him in the face.

Yuri stumbled backward from the force of the blow. "What the-" Another blow to his gut knocked him to his ass. Yuri looked up to see a short, round man in a red jacket striding into his room.

"Good evening," he growled. An elbow to the face kept Yuri from getting up. "A little birdie told me you're the one who thought he could run a sword through a Horseman and get away with it."

"So what if I am?" It wasn't too hard to put the pieces together to figure out who this bastard was. Repede barked and ran at War, but he kicked the snarling dog out of the way like he was a Chihuahua. Repede yelped as he crashed to the floor. This at least distracted War long enough for Yuri to jump to his feet and make a run for his bedroom. If he could get his sword, he could at least put War out of business for a little while.

War grabbed the back collar of Yuri's shirt and yanked, making him choke. "You're not running away from me. My friends and I want to have some  _words_." War twisted his arms behind his back until Yuri winced from the strain on his shoulders. Then they turned around and War pushed him toward the door.

"Get the hell off me!" Yuri snarled and kicked him. It hurt his foot more than it hurt War.  _Damn_ , why did he have to be so  _human_?! Repede growled and ran forward again, limping this time. "You hurt my dog, you asshole! You'll pay for that!"

"I'm sure." War kicked Repede away and forced Yuri outside. He slammed the door with his foot and then started up the stairs. Yuri did his best to dig his feet into the ground, but War barrelled forward like a train. On the driveway he had even less hope, because his feet kept slipping on patches of ice hidden under the film of snow. War let go of him with one arm to pop open the trunk of a black car Yuri recognized as Cumore's. He thought this might be his chance to escape, but he had no chance of breaking out of War's super-human grip.

War easily picked him up and tossed him into the trunk of the car. Yuri roared, "I'll kill you, bastard!" as the lid slammed shut. He immediately kicked and searched for a weak point in the trunk, and he was still shouting and kicking as the car sped off into the night.


	15. The Weather Outside is Frightful

Yuri had stopped trying to get out of the car after about fifteen minutes. Kicking things accomplished nothing but wearing himself out. He didn't know where they were going, but it couldn't be good. How had War even found out he was the culprit? What had he said about someone telling him?  _Zagi_ , Yuri thought with a groan of frustration. War must have gone to Hell to ask around, and Zagi probably jumped at the chance to sell Yuri out.

Yuri rolled onto his back and stared at the black ceiling. Fuck. He was really in a pickle this time, wasn't he? His knees almost bumped the ceiling because the space was too small to stretch them out. It was freezing, too. The car's heater didn't reach the trunk and he was glad he'd put his coat on just before War arrived.

The car slowed to a halt and Yuri tensed. He turned to his side and prepared to leap out the moment the trunk opened. He heard War's heavy footsteps rounding the car and Yuri braced himself. There was a  _thunk,_  a crack of light and Yuri released like a spring to smash into War. He'd intended to knock him to the ground, but hitting him was like trying to wrestle a boulder. War knocked him away and Yuri's foot caught on the edge of the trunk, sending him smashing to the pavement.

He grunted, momentarily winded, but before he could get his wits back together, War grabbed his ankles. Yuri's fingers dragged through slush as he was pulled across a small parking lot with only one row for cars. Over his shoulder, he saw War pulling him toward an old brick building. It must be at least five or six storeys high, and the wall was covered in rows of small, arched, green doors, even on the upper levels. There was one full-size door on the first floor, which War was now opening.

Nearby, cars sped by and Christmas music played over outdoor speakers. With a flash he realized they were on the edge of the Distillery District. On the other side of the busy road, hundreds of people were enjoying the Christmas market. He considered calling for help, but what were civilians going to do? If an average good Samaritan tried to help, they'd probably just get killed and Yuri didn't want that on his conscience.

He wasn't having any luck kicking or freeing his legs, so Yuri put all his effort into grabbing something on the ground, either to keep War from dragging him further or to use as a weapon. Unfortunately, the asphalt was covered in slush and ice and all he got for his efforts were cold, wet hands. War dragged him over a step into the building, and Yuri grabbed the edge. His stiff fingers were too cold and wet to overpower War, who pulled him into a large, dark room. They continued their journey across a dusty wooden floor, around a mess of old racks filling the middle of the room. A few of the racks still had barrels on them.

Yuri left a wet trail from the slush soaking his shirt, and it led around across the empty warehouse to a rickety staircase in the far corner. By the time they reached the top, he was sure he'd gained a few new bruises from being knocked across the steps. His worries turned away from bruises when War yanked him forward and let go, causing Yuri to thump on the ground and roll a couple of times before coming to a stop. Sore and furious, Yuri leapt to his feet with his fists already clenched to knock War's lights out.

Someone grabbed his collar from behind and threw him to the floor again. He landed with a grunt and looked up to see Alexei, Cumore, and War looking down at him. Quickly, he ran through his resources. It didn't take very long, because the list consisted of bare hands, clothing, and an anger with so much fire it could burn Rome to the ground. "Hey, Cumore. Looking good. Last time I saw you, you were looking a little red."

Cumore's nose wrinkled with a snarl and he lashed out with a kick. Yuri twisted and pulled up his arm to block it and felt pain crash through his elbow. "You're going to regret that."

"We don't often get along," Alexei said. "In fact, we are very much at odds at the present."

War harrumphed and crossed his arms.

"But," Alexei continued, "we are, for lack of a better word, family. And you tried to kill one of us."

Yuri pushed himself upright and massaged is aching arm. "I didn't  _try_ , I did. Just 'cause it didn't stick doesn't mean I don't get credit for it."

War guffawed. "You're a cheeky kid." He snatched the front of Yuri's shirt and yanked him to his feet. "Let's see how long you keep that up."

"Hey, where are you getting 'kid' from?" He feigned insult while his mind raced for an escape route. He was on the second floor of an empty warehouse in the Distillery District. The room was mostly creaking wood and brick walls, with some old barrels that might still have dregs of whiskey and a table by the racks lit by candles. Not much in the way of a Get Out of an Asskicking Free card. "I'm just as old as you."

"That's right," Alexei said while War grabbed his arm, turned him around, and pinned his arms behind his back. "This young man is a fallen angel. Mostly human by this point, but I believe he still has enough healing ability to make this interesting… or at least entertainingly prolonged."

Now would be a really good time to suddenly start believing in God again and get his angel juju flowing. It might not completely save him, because one Horseman on his own was stronger than a run-of-the-mill angel, let alone three at once, but it would certainly help. Still, he carefully kept his expression cocky. He knew he was fucked, and the Horsemen knew he was fucked, but his pride could not abide them knowing he knew. "Hey, this is great. I'm just glad I could help bring you feuding children back together, especially around Christmastime."

War twisted his arms tighter and Yuri barely suppressed a wince. "Shut up. I'll be handling their pesky interfering with my plans after you're pulverized."

Alexei said, "And rest assured that once we deal with you, I'll be paying the girl a visit. I had every intention of killing her quickly, but after her little stunt with the poison I'm not so sure she deserves it."

"If you put one finger on Estelle, I'll beat you into the next century."

Cumore laughed. "That would be a trick from a dead man."

"So what, that's your plan? Three immortal emissaries of darkness and you're just gonna beat me up 'cause you're upset? Real classy, guys."

"It was their idea." Alexei shrugged. "Rather crass for my preferences, personally."

"Hurry up, I'm getting bored," War growled. "Famine, you're the one he gutted. Go ahead and take the first hit."

Cumore grinned. "With pleasure." He raised his fist.

Yuri braced himself; this was going to hurt.

* * *

 

Flynn and Rita sat in the emergency waiting room. It felt like Estelle had just been here. Flynn sat against the wall and watched other people come in with ailments and injuries while daydreaming about being able to heal them all with a touch.

He felt like an empty husk, drained of the light that had burned inside him for thousands of years. Every few minutes he suddenly noticed he was breathing and then couldn't stop noticing as his lungs expanded on their own. His fingers kept creeping to his throat to study the pounding of a heart. He had felt it throbbing in his chest while in the cemetery, but now he barely noticed it. When it had first started slowing down, he'd freaked out and thought it meant he was dying until Rita explained some things.

"Nothing." She scowled at her phone as the screen went black. "He's not picking up."

"Maybe he's busy." Flynn turned his attention to her. He hadn't had a chance to get to know Rita well before this, but he'd been pleasantly surprised. She'd handled everything much better than he had. Police showed up just after the paramedics to ask about the stabbing and Rita not only gave them a description of Cumore but came up with a last name for Flynn on the spot when the officer wanted one to take down witness information. The name was 'Scifo' - apparently it was the name one of her favourite teachers and the first thing that popped into her head. After the paramedics rushed off with Estelle in the ambulance, the police had kindly given them a ride to the hospital to wait for word from a doctor.

"Could be. Well, I sent him a text."

"That's the best you can do, I suppose. Is there anyone else you need to call?"

"Yeah, I was about to call Judy and Raven. I should call my parents, too, and let them know I'll be home late."

While Rita was busy making calls, Flynn wondered where he should go after this. Heaven had always been home, but he couldn't go back anymore. Sooner or later he was going to start getting drowsy and he was going to need to sleep. He'd have to impose on Yuri and hope he didn't mind. Yuri would be good to spend time with in general, since he could help Flynn adjust from being an angel.

It was such a weird thing to think about. Not an angel anymore. How could the core of his identity just vanish? At least Yuri head purposefully left to pursue a different goal. Flynn was just lost, confused, and not sure what the hell he should do with his life now that it had a time limit and no powers.

"…yes, I'm fine," Rita was saying. "Yes,  _fine_ , Mom. I'm not hurt at all. Yeah, I'll tell her…. I  _know_ , Mom…. Ok, see you tonight. Bye." She hung up and rolled her eyes. "She can be really annoying sometimes."

"She's just worried about you. It makes sense considering as far as she knows, you were right next to a murderer who stabbed your best friend."

"Yeah, I know. It's not just this, though. She can be really overbearing and controlling. She's already got the university I'm going to attend picked out. It's obnoxious because I actually would have picked that one as a top choice but now I don't even want to apply just to spite her."

"That seems a little misguided. If it's the best school, you should go regardless of your mother. It's your future at stake, after all."

Rita crossed her arms. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just so frustrating. Plus she drags me to church every Sunday even though I've been saying for years I'd rather not, and I wanted to switch schools before middle school because I was sick of the religious-base at this one."

"I'm sorry. That seems frustrating."

"It is." She let out a frustrated sigh. "Sorry for rambling. I never complain about my mom with Estelle, 'cause… you know."

He nodded. "Yes. That might come off as insensitive. Did you call Judy?"

Rita nodded. "Let her know what's going on. There isn't much she can do right now, but she said she'll talk to the cops we met. Raven's on his way here."

"Good." He should probably get a cell phone now that he was stuck on Earth. How did that even work? Yuri had one, so there must be a way to get one without registering a name. He was in the same boat as Yuri - no ID, no passport, no birth certificate, no legal existence whatsoever.

"Excuse me," said a man in scrubs. "You came in with Estellise Heurassein, right?"

"That's right!" Rita jumped to her feet. "Is she ok?"

The nurse nodded. "She's going to pull through."

Flynn sighed in relief while Rita punched the air. "Yes! So can we see her?"

He nodded. "You can come back and talk to her for a few minutes."

The nurse led them through a door and to a long, white-tiled room with rows of beds and curtains to separate them. "We'll be transferring her to an available room on the medical floor as soon as we can," he explained and left them at her bed.

Estelle opened her eyes when they approached and managed a tiny smile. "Hi, guys."

Flynn dropped to his knees at her side. "I'm so sorry. This is all my fault. I'm sorry."

Rita lightly kicked his leg. "Don't trip over yourself, geeze. That woman's the one who stabbed her."

"I was supposed to protect you, but you keep getting hurt. I failed to protect you now and I failed to protect you last year when you needed a miracle. I'm sorry I'm so useless."

Estelle wearily shook her head. "It's ok, Flynn," she whispered. "You did what you could. It's not your fault Heaven is indifferent."

Flynn hung his head in shame.

"Do you want me to bring your stuff?" Rita asked. "I can get your blanket and iPad and crap from your place. Maybe my mom will let me ditch school tomorrow to keep you company. I mean, it's gotta be more useful than whatever time-wasting activities the teachers have planned for the last day."

"That would be really nice. Did you guys tell the others?"

Rita nodded enthusiastically in her effort to keep her spirits up. "Yeah, I called Judy and she said Raven's coming. I bet he can heal you just like that, so maybe you won't even have to stay tomorrow. I tried to call Yuri but he didn't pick up so he's probably busy. And I called my mom so you know everyone else in the church is going to know by tomorrow morning."

She frowned. "Do you think Yuri's ok?"

Flynn looked up to reassure her. "I'm sure he is. He probably just left his phone on the counter while taking Repede for a walk."

Estelle smiled and closed her eyes. "Good."

After a long pause, Rita said, "We should probably go."

Flynn nodded. "She needs rest."

As they re-entered the waiting room, Raven strode in from the street. He made a beeline for them when he saw them. "What's the deal? Judy said Estelle got stabbed."

"One of Flynn's angel buddies stabbed her," Rita said with a furious expression.

"What? Why?"

Flynn explained in as low a voice he could. It was a difficult story to tell because it inevitably involved recounting how he'd disobeyed orders and fallen from Heaven. When he was done, Raven clapped him on the shoulder.

"That sounds like a tough decision, kid. Not sure I can say I wouldn't'a done the same."

"You can heal her now, right?" Rita asked with hope.

Raven rubbed his chin. "Welllll, I can do a bit. If I just magic away the wound, the doctors'll be baffled and she'll spend the rest of her life being hounded by scientists wanting to know the secrete of her DNA or something. Stab wounds don't just miraculously clear up overnight. I'll heal it to the limit of plausibility, though, and take away most of the pain."

"That's something, at least," Rita said.

"Can you stay here tonight?" Flynn asked. "I'm worried someone might come back and try to finish the job. I'd stand guard myself, but…." In a fight against an angel or a Horseman, he was suddenly seriously outmatched.

Raven nodded. "Don't worry, Constable Raven's on the case!" He jerked his thumb at his chest. "Besides, I got a badge. They won't kick me out when visiting hours are up. I'll make a call ta Whitehorse and explain she was attacked by Cumore and I can even get guard duty as an official order. Don't'cha worry about a thing."

"Thanks."

Outside, they walked to the bus stop. Rita gave Flynn a few tokens and then waved goodbye when he got on his bus. Flynn stood, holding a bar over his head and ruminating on how much more efficient it was to fly places. When he got off the bus, he wished he had boots instead of running shoes. Snow on the sidewalk had never been an issue, because either he'd fly over it or the cold didn't bother him. Now the water soaked through his shoes and froze his toes. A t-shirt and knitted sweater covered in snowflakes did little to protect him from the cold night breeze and he learned that cold air caused your nose to run. By the time he reached Yuri's house, he was cold, wet, and sniffling.

He knocked, but nobody answered. "Hurry up, Yuri," he muttered, hugging himself for warmth. He knocked again and then tried the door. It was unlocked, so he let himself in. "Yuri?"

Repede growled and jumped up when he entered, but then whimpered and fell back to his stomach. The room was dark and quiet.

Flynn closed the door and turned on the light. Repede lay in the middle of the room, watching him and growling softly. Yuri's car had still been in the driveway, so he must have gone for a walk. Weird that he didn't take Repede.

After taking off his wet shoes, Flynn knelt by Repede. The dog flinched as he reached to pet him and Flynn frowned. "Are you hurt?" Flynn gently ran his hand across the thick fur, but when he reached Repede's side, the dog barked at him and he quickly pulled his hand away. He was no vet and it was hard to see under the fur, but he must have been injured. Yuri had probably gone to find a vet, and maybe his car finally gave out so he took the bus.

Either way, Flynn had no way of contacting him since he spotted Yuri's phone on the kitchen counter. Flynn settled onto the couch to wait for him to come home.

* * *

 

Yuri melted into the floor. Angels didn't have internal organs the way humans did. They were basically human-shaped facades filled with energy, which rapidly solidified into an actual human body when that grace vanished upon falling. In the past three years, Yuri had learned a lot about the internal workings of humans, but his knowledge of anatomy had doubled tonight with the revelation of dozens of muscles he hadn't known he had, illuminated by pain.

It slowly occurred to him that he was no longer being hit. Or kicked, punched, or smashed into the floor. It took a while to realize this because eventually every successive blow blended into the last like a bloody gradient. Yuri tried to move.  _Fuck_. He was pretty sure even his fingernails hurt.

"…ashamed of yourselves," someone was saying. For the moment, Yuri didn't care who. "You have flagrantly ignored the sacred duty you were created to uphold."

"Easy for you to say," grumbled War. " _You_  actually have work to do before the Apocalypse."

"Boredom is no excuse. You must cease all your schemes and plans immediately."

"Hrmph. Sure."

Footsteps came closer and then then the voice said, "Can you stand?"

Of course he could. Yuri pushed against the ground to prove it, but somehow he ended up back on the ground again. Strong hands grabbed him and pulled him to his feet, where he wobbled and saw that his rescuer was Death. He immediately checked the ground again, just in case his body was still there. "Am I… dead?" he croaked. Talking hurt.

"No."

"Huh… good." Consider the circumstances, he didn't think it was unrealistic to assume Death had shown up to collect him upon dying. Yuri didn't pay much attention to where they were going. His head spun and his feet dragged. Most of his weight was supported on Death's shoulder, and he collapsed into the front seat of a pale car.

He slowly came to life during the drive. His injuries were healing, but there were so many that the already-sparse magic was spread thin. When he could breathe without hurting his chest, he asked, "Why did you show up?"

"You were going to die," Death said without taking his eyes off the road.

"Heh…" Yuri coughed - ow. "I woulda been fine."

"That was not a supposition."

Yuri turned his head to the window. Coming from him, there really was no doubt. It was an odd feeling to know he really would have kicked the bucket back there. He pushed the conversation along so he wouldn't have to dwell on it. "So why do you care?"

"You are human."

"Am not."

"You are as much an angel as a terrier is a wolf."

Yuri scowled. The slowly dwindling pain assured him he still had  _some_  angel in him, but the fact that he had gotten this hurt to begin with confirmed that it was a very small sum. "So what? You let people die every day."

"It was not your time to die. The other Horsemen should not have intervened in the lifespan of a human. This is the same reason you must protect Estellise from them."

"We're doing our best."

"She nearly died tonight. You must exert more effort."

"She what?!" Yuri twisted around and then regretted it with a grimace. Clutching his aching torso, he asked more calmly, "What do you mean she almost died?"

"An angel from Heaven attempted to strike her down. She is alive."

Yuri closed his eyes and took as deep a breath as he dared. "Dammit."

They pulled up outside his house. "I believe this is your place of residence?"

"Yeah, that's it."

"Do you need assistance to walk inside?"

"I think I got it." He opened the door and used it as support to get to his feet. Bones creaked as he forced weight onto his shaking knees. As he turned to close the door, he hesitated for a moment and then begrudgingly said, "…Thanks."

Death mere nodded and then drove away. Yuri slowly walked to the side door. It would have been a limp, but with both legs equally injured it was more of a stagger. He braced himself against the wall on the way down the stairs, then practically fell into his room. He slid down the back of the door and crumpled to the ground. "Fuck," he whispered.

"Yuri?"

He jolted, which hurt everything all over again. "Who - shit, Flynn! What are you doing in my house?"

Flynn hopped over the side of the couch and got to his knees in front of him. "What happened? You look awful."

"Haven't seen your face launch many ships lately yourself."

"I'll get you some… what do you put on bruises? Heat or cold?"

Yuri gave him a confused look. "Just feel me up with those angel hands."

Flynn looked away and his pose stiffened. "I… can't."

"Huh?"

"I fell, Yuri."

That didn't explain anything. "Why? What?  _You_?"

"It's a long explanation. Just tell me if I should get ice or heat."

"Ice."

Flynn ran to the freezer and returned with a baggie full of ice. His hand hovered over Yuri and he asked, "Uh… where's the worst?"

Yuri rolled his eyes. "Just give me a hand to the couch and get a towel."

Flynn nodded and helped him up. Yuri had to lean on him a lot more than he'd like to admit, and then collapsed to the couch with a groan. Flynn brought him a towel and more ice, and Yuri positioned it over his throbbing face.

"How's Repede?"

"He's injured but it doesn't seem serious. What happened? Were you attacked?"

"Ugh… I'll take him to the vet tomorrow. What happened to you? What do you mean you fell?"

Flynn sat on the arm of the couch. "Your story first."

"Hell no. You talk and give me a chance to heal."

"All right."

Flynn's explanation didn't make Yuri any happier. It was bad enough when the Horsemen were after Estelle, but if all of Heaven had turned against her, they were really up against a stacked deck. He couldn't blame Flynn for falling after being given such an order, but he could blame Phaeroh. Angels were supposed to  _protect_  humans. He could frame it as a sacrifice akin to Christ all he wanted, but that was just an excuse. It didn't seem like a sacrifice to him so much as Heaven giving up on Estelle. It was too hard to keep protecting her, so they'd take the easy way out and cut their losses. That wasn't the Heaven Yuri had once loyally served, and it only confirmed for him that God wasn't calling the shots anymore. The parable of the lost sheep didn't end with "and if the sheep is too hard to save, well… lamb chops for dinner, who cares."

"I'm not sure what to do now." Flynn had pulled his feet onto the couch cushion while still sitting on the arm. He leaned forward and studied his knees. "Being an angel is all I've ever known. I've already made clear my opinion on the usefulness of becoming a vigilante."

"You can do whatever you want." By now the throbbing ache had dimmed enough that Yuri pulled the ice away. "That's the nice thing about being human. There aren't any divine orders or sacred commandments. Maybe you should become a cop; apparently it's pretty close to Heaven."

"I suppose I have time to think about it. What about you? You're a wreck."

"Yeah, about that…" His story took considerably less time.

After giving Flynn the pertinent details, Flynn said, "Lord, Yuri. You're lucky you didn't die."

"Don't think I would have."

"But Death said-"

"Yeah, but I mean, Death was pretty much guaranteed to show up. He always knows when someone is going to die, right?"

"He didn't come when Alexei nearly killed Estelle. She came alarmingly close to death, Yuri. If I hadn't gotten to her, the poison would have killed her."

"But it didn't." Yuri shrugged. "Maybe Death knew you had it under control."

The most frustrating part of this was that he couldn't even justify to himself that he had it under control and probably could have gotten out of there on his own. It was an absolute fact that if Death hadn't shown up to bail him out, those bastard would have kill him. He felt certain that they wouldn't have been able to do that if he were still an angel, and he definitely wouldn't still be in this much pain as an angel.

Death had said it himself: he was as much an angel now as a terrier was a wolf. He may still have a few of the trappings, but the most threatening prey he could take down now was a squeaky toy. He wasn't the vigilante saviour he'd imagined himself as when he left; he was a human. An ordinary human who had as much hope of changing the world and making a difference as a terrier did of taking down an elk.

"Maybe so. What do we do now?"

A bead of condensation from the ice trickled down his cheek. He didn't speak until it had reached his neck. "I don't know."

"We're just a couple of humans now. Do you mind if I stay here for a bit?"

"Go ahead. I know it's pretty confusing to figure out how human society works when you're suddenly thrust into the middle of it."

"Yeah. Thanks."

Yuri pried himself off the couch and leaned against the arm once he made it to his feet. "I'm going to bed. When you start feeling heavy, sore, and stupid, that's sleepiness and you should crash on the couch. If you get hungry - that'll be growly aches in your stomach - help yourself to anything in the fridge. Tingly crotch means you have to pee and dry mouth means you have to drink."

Flynn nodded. "Human bodies are such high maintenance. You really have to eat three times a day to keep from collapsing?"

Yuri chuckled as much as he dared with his bruised ribs. "You get used to it." Really, it wasn't all the new stuff he had to do that weighed on his mind. It was what he  _couldn't_  do.

* * *

 

Yuri thought it was his alarm that woke him up, before he realized the high-pitched beeping was not his phone. It was, in fact, the smoke detector.

He bolted out of bed, and then immediately slowed down and clutched the wall as a wave of aches tried to knock him back into bed. Most of the injuries had healed, but he was left stiff and sore. As soon as he could, he hurried into the main room. Flynn was pouring a glass of water into a flaming pan while smoke filled the room.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

The water in the pan sizzled and the smoke was replaced with steam. Flynn jumped back as beads of boiling water spat at his arms. Yuri grabbed a chair and turned off the fire alarm, and then looked at a sheepish Flynn. In the pan were the soggy, charred remains of whatever he'd been cooking.

"I was trying to make toast," Flynn explained.

Yuri stepped off the chair and pushed it back to the table. "In a pan?"

"Is… that not right?"

Yuri pressed his hand against his face. "No, Flynn, you use a  _toaster_  for toast. What did you do, throw a piece of bread in a pan and then turn up the heat?"

Flynn frowned. "Yeah…"

Yuri cracked a smile and shook his head. He shouldn't give Flynn too much grief; he recalled some culinary disasters of his own when he first started out. "Clean that up and I'll put some in the toaster. Maybe next time you should start with something simpler, like cereal."

"That would have been smart." Flynn picked up the pan and Yuri heard a growl.

"That your stomach?"

"Yeah. I started getting hungry around five in the morning but I didn't know what to eat or how to cook, so I thought I'd wait for you to get up. Then it got too strong so I caved and tried to make toast."

Yuri popped the bread in the machined and then leaned against the counter. "Did you sleep at all?"

"No." He scraped his shameful toast into the trash. "Haven't gotten tired yet."

"It'll hit you all at once." He sure wished he'd had someone to walk him through the transition. Still, he didn't like that he had to do it. Flynn shouldn't be human. Flynn was one of the best angels Yuri had ever known - someone who was truly dedicated and loved his job. There was still so much good he could do as part of Heaven, if only Heaven didn't have to be full of so many dickwads.

"We should visit Estelle at the hospital."

Yuri nodded. "I was gonna. First I'm taking Repede to the vet, then we can get going." The toast popped and Yuri tossed it to a plate. "What do you want on it? Jam? Butter? Cinnamon? Peanut butter? Cheez-whiz?"

Flynn frowned at the last one. "What is Cheez-whiz? Is that a type of cheese?"

"Technically. Maybe it's not time to introduce you to the full horrors of humanity yet. Have some jam."

* * *

 

"How's Repede?" Flynn asked later on their way to the hospital.

"He'll be ok. No broken bones but some bad bruising. I got some pills, but now the trick is to get him to eat them. Covering them in peanut butter ought to do the trick."

"And what about you?"

"Me? I'm fine."

"M-hm…" Flynn leaned against the car door and gave Yuri a skeptical look. He'd seen how stiffly Yuri was still moving. Thinking about how close he'd come to losing Yuri made his heart tremor. It was so rare for angels to die that he had very little experience with losing a friend. It had been bad enough to think about the fact that humanity meant dying one day, and even worse to have the possibility thrown in his face. Worst of all, it was a dark reminder that he was mortal now, too.

From what he understood, humans learned as children that all living things die and that they, too, will die one day. Flynn always thought he understood that concept, but without the caveat that it applied to him as well, his understanding of mortality had been incomplete. He'd always known death was a possibility if he messed up and got wounded badly enough, but it was easy to be confident in his skills and believe it would never happen to him. Now, it didn't matter what he did. He was going to die in less than a century and there was nothing he or anyone could do to prevent that. No wonder humans were so impatient and aggressive if they had this existential dread hanging over them their entire lives.

At the hospital, they found Estelle awake and talking to Rita. Raven sat on a folding chair by the door, and nodded when they entered.

"Good morning," Estelle said. She managed to smile, but the bounce in her voice was gone.

"Hey," Yuri said, grinning as he walked to her bed. "What's with you in the hospital all the time? We're gonna have to start wrapping you in bubble wrap."

"Heh, maybe."

Flynn sat on the hard couch by the door. "You're in no position to talk, Yuri."

"What's that mean?" Rita asked from her seat on the side of Estelle's bed.

Yuri shrugged. "Had a bit of a run in with War yesterday. No big deal."

Raven looked up. "What kind of a run in?"

"The Horsemen tried to kill him," Flynn said. "He's lucky they didn't succeed."

"Oh, no." Estelle covered her mouth. "This is all my fault. They only targeted you because you got involved with me, right? I'm so sorry."

"Don't stress, Estelle." Yuri lowered himself to the ground and leaned against her nightstand. "They were mad because I messed with them."

"It's because you killed Cumore, right?"

Yuri shot his head up. "Where'd you hear about that?"

Her expression was cold. "Death told me."

"Hmph. And here I thought dead men told no tales."

"Why did you hide it from me, Yuri?" When he hesitated before answering, she folded her arms. "Is it because you didn't want to worry me? You're as bad as Flynn. You guys can't keep hiding things from me just because you think I'm a child who can't handle scary things."

Yuri looked to Flynn, who grimaced in sympathy. Clearly she was still upset about not telling her about Death. Flynn stood by that decision, though. It wasn't because he thought she was particularly young or immature, but that humans in general didn't need to be told about these things. There were some things that humans were better off not knowing. Although, he wondered if his perspective would change now that he was going to be consistently left out of the loop, too.

"I'm sorry." Yuri spoke to the floor instead of her. "It's not because I underestimated you. It's just… I wasn't proud of what I did. I didn't want to have to do it, and I didn't want to talk about it. You're right; you deserved to know. Sorry."

Mollified by his apology, Estelle leaned back into her pillows. "It's ok, Yuri."

"So…" Rita looked around the room. "What are we going to do now?"

No one answered. There was a series of silent glances as everyone waited for someone else to think of a plan, but everyone came up empty. Flynn had no idea what to do with his own life, let alone what to do about anyone else's. For now they were safe in this hospital room, but the Horsemen would be back. One of the three would come after Estelle again soon, and that was if Heaven didn't send another angel to finish the job. Raven could do his best to protect her, but if a whole group of them showed up, there was only so much he could do. Flynn had no faith that Cumore and the others wouldn't try to get revenge on Yuri again just because Death told them not to. They were at the ends of their ropes.

Rita hopped off the bed and left the room without a word. The rest still hadn't come up with anything by the time she came back holding a thin cardboard box. "We're going to play Monopoly." She set the box on Estelle's bed and grabbed the TV remote. After turning it to the 24-hour Christmas music channel, she turned to the others and said, "We're stuck here, right? We have nothing else to do but wait for something else to attack us, so let's try to have a nice morning."

Yuri smiled. "I think that's a great idea. Hey, wait, aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Psh," Rita scoffed while unfolding the board on Estelle's tray table. "I ditched. My mom will kill me when she finds out, but I don't care. I'm not leaving Estelle alone in here."

Flynn was about to rise to join them when his body was seized by the urge to open his mouth and gasp in air. He covered his mouth in surprise and then realized it was a yawn. He was having trouble keeping his eyes open, too.

"So it's finally hitting you," Yuri said, looking over.

Flynn sank back into the couch. "So this is what tired is. I don't like it."

"No one likes it," Yuri said.

"I'm sorry." Flynn rubbed his eyes. "I think I'm going to sit out the game."

"That's ok, Flynn," Estelle said. "You should get some sleep."

Flynn nodded and stretched out on the couch. He closed his eyes and listened to some child singer on TV sing about Santa Claus coming to town while the others listlessly sorted out the money and figurines.


	16. In the Bleak Midwinter

Estelle flicked through the channels. Raven said he was healing her wound as much as he could to avoid suspicion, but she was willing to freak out the doctors if it meant getting out of here. Luckily, she shouldn’t be in here for too much longer. The doctor assured her that based on how quickly she was healing, she could be released to recover at home by tomorrow. She wondered if part of that was because tomorrow was Christmas Eve and they wanted as few patients as possible so they could go home early.

Her stomach hurt. Even with Raven’s healing and the drugs pumped in though the IV, a dull ache was her constant companion. Perhaps what made it worse was that this wasn’t an injury from Cumore. It wasn’t a demon who hurt her, or a Horseman. No, it was an angel. A holy angel following a directive from the highest echelons of Heaven. It was no longer a question of whether God still cared about her life. If He did exist, He had abandoned her.

She stopped channel surfing when she saw Judy Garland singing to a young girl. Memories stabbed her more poignantly than a sword. Mom used to love _Meet Me In St. Louis_. Estelle had teased her about her old movies, but now she couldn’t bring herself to change the channel. She could almost feel Mom’s presence lying in bed beside her, saying, “No, no, don’t change the channel. What if it ends differently this time?”

“ _…someday soon, we all will be together_

_If the fates allow_

_Until then, we’ll have to muddle through somehow…_ ”

“Sorry, Mom,” Estelle muttered and turned off the TV before she could start crying again. She’d been doing far too much crying lately, but she’d held it in all day while her friends were here.

They’d watched a few cheesy made-for-TV movies about generic straight white people falling in love around Christmastime and tried to chat as if they weren’t in a hospital and Estelle wasn’t at risk of being murdered by no less than four supernatural powers. It was Christmas break, so Rita could spend the whole day with her, but it was evening now and everyone had gone home, save for Raven who sat in the hall outside her room to keep watch. Yuri was busy working at The Comet as much as he could, because with Flynn living with him, he needed the extra money to support him. Flynn swore to pay him back as soon as he found a way to make money, no matter how often Yuri said he didn’t mind. Estelle would give them some of her own, but she was out of spare change for the month.

Ragou was already going to be mad that she’d paid for a private room again. Honestly, she didn’t care. He could yell at her all he wanted and that wouldn’t change the fact that next Sunday his job was over and every last penny was going to her. A couple hundred dollars for a room really wasn’t that big a deal considering how much she had to choose from.

Grumpy, she turned on her iPad and navigated her way to her bank page for a tangible reminder that a hundred dollars was barely noticeable. She felt guilty as she had to pull out her wallet to remember her bank number and the password surreptitiously hidden as a phone number. She should check more often, but honestly the thought of all that money had been overwhelming for a while after Mom died.

There, see? She smiled to herself, confident she was right. Ragou was an old Scrooge who’d probably complain if she spent money on a steak when she could survive on Cup Noodles. Estelle clicked to see her transaction history, proving to herself that she rarely spent money on frivolous things and Ragou’s whining about being irresponsible and too immature to handle the money was unfounded.

Bored now, she clicked around through her account.  To be honest, she usually didn’t dig too deeply into her bank information.  She checked the main transaction page to make sure bills were paid, but now she found herself deep in her account history.  There was another list of transactions here, buried in lines of legalize.

She scrolled through the list and then stopped when she saw a thousand dollar transaction she didn’t remember. There were the bills for her apartment, hydro, life insurance, account fees, her monthly allowance… there must be something else she wasn’t thinking of, because what was this thousand dollars for? The recipient account had no name, just a string of numbers. Frowning, she scrolled up to last month to compare and saw the same thousand dollar transfer. After checking a few more months, she confirmed that this was a monthly thing. Yuri’s tattered shoes and barely-held-together car came to mind with a twinge of guilt; there were probably not many people in the world who could pay a thousand dollars a month and not even realize it. The twelve thousand dollars this bill had taken over the past year was hardly going to bankrupt her and honestly she would barely notice twelve thousand dollars off her total inheritance, but she was curious.

She set her iPad down and then scrolled through the contact list on her phone. Oh, the sweet day when she could finally delete Ragou’s information was coming soon. The phone rang a few times and he picked up sounding as irritated as ever.

“What is it?”

“Good evening, Mr. Ragou. Um, I was just looking through my account history and I found a monthly transaction I don’t remember setting up. The recipient account is unnamed, so I was wondering if you could tell me what that’s about?”

Ragou gave an annoyed little sigh. “Yes, well, I can assure you I’ve verified all transactions in and out of your account.”

“But what is this one?  The account number is…” She glanced down and then read off the numbers.

“It’s a bank service fee.”

“A fee for what? I thought the bank took a percentage of the total at the beginning as a management fee.”

“Yes but this is a different fee. Miss Heurassein, I’m afraid I can’t talk about this at the moment. I’m on the highway. I also need to discuss this new hospital bill you’ve accrued. When are you available to meet in person?”

“Tomorrow afternoon, if all goes according to plan.”

“Very well. The office is closed tomorrow for Christmas Eve. We can meet elsewhere. You can come to my home, if you wish.”

Estelle thought about visiting creepy Ragou’s private house for one second and shuddered. “Uh, I think I’d rather talk somewhere public.”

“There aren’t many public places open on Christmas Eve. Hrm… the Christmas Market should be busy. We can meet there.”

“I’m ok with that. How about around… three o’clock? Constable Altosk is going to drive me home so I’ll ask him to escort me.”

“Very well. I’ll meet you at the corner of Mill and Trinity and we can have a meeting at a nearby restaurant.”

She’d rather have lunch with a seasick crocodile, but she wanted to get this worked out and told herself that next week she’d be done with him forever. “Ok. Thank you.”

He hung up on her and Estelle put her phone down. Meeting Ragou was not her preferred way to spend Christmas Eve, but maybe it would be good to have something business related to focus on. She had nothing else to do and wasn’t in the spirit to spend it being festive. Rita’s parents had invited her to come to their house, but she was planning on claiming she was still too sore from the stabbing to socialize. As much as she appreciated the offer, she knew from last year that spending the holiday with a complete family would just be a constant reminder of what she didn’t have.

 

* * *

 

“The entire premise of this movie is flawed,” Flynn said as they sat on the couch. “If the mouse doesn’t believe in Santa, why did he write a letter to Santa to tell him he didn’t believe in him?”

“You may be overthinking it. Shut up and eat your waffle.”

Flynn looked down on his plate. “Don’t you have anything to put on it that isn’t whipped cream or chocolate?”

Yuri cut a sliver of the fluffy waffle with his fork and carefully balanced a strawberry on top. “There’s butter.”

“Don’t you have any maple syrup?”

“Nah, I couldn’t find any at the store.”

Flynn raised his eyebrows. “ _No_ syrup at all?”

“They had table syrup, which my friend explained very clearly isn’t _real_ maple syrup and to call it that is blasphemy. Also it tastes like liquid sugar once sat through a PowerPoint presentation on what maple is supposed to taste like but spent most of it goofing off.”

“Covering your waffle in so much whipped cream and strawberries that there’s more sugar than waffle is clearly a better alternative.”

“Exactly.”

“Anyway, I just can’t follow this movie. It makes no sense. The mouse doesn’t believe in Santa, so he writes a letter to Santa saying as much. That’s like praying to God to tell Him you’re an atheist.”

“Maybe deep down, he does still believe.”

“Why are we even watching this movie? Wasn’t it made for small children?”

Yuri scrapped chocolate sauce off his plate. “Because it’s Christmas Eve and you didn’t want to watch the one with the puppets.”

“They’re creepy.”

“I’ll give you that.” Yuri finished his waffle and took the plate to the kitchen sink. He’d wash it later. Back at the couch, he pulled up his legs and said, “I’m going to go visit Estelle later. Want to come?”

“Of course. I hate to think of her alone in the hospital on Christmas Eve.”

“She said she’s getting out this afternoon. Raven sped the healing up quite a bit.” Yuri owed him thanks as well, because he’d cleared up all his lingering pains.

“Do you know what she plans on doing tonight? She should come here for the night so she won’t be alone.”

“I’ll bring it up with her. What about you?”

Flynn finished his own, regrettably plain, waffle. “Hm? What about me?”

“Do you have any plans for Christmas? Going to church or anything?”

Flynn frowned and studied his empty plate. “You know… I’m not sure. I’ve always spent Christmas in Heaven. It’s sacred there.”

“I know what you mean.” Christmas was a holy day, which meant a lot of prayer and worship. In the past three years, Yuri had grown incredibly fond of human Christmas. It was a lot more fun than spending a whole day being pious.

“It would be interesting to experience a secular human Christmas, I think. I don’t think I want to get too involved with the religious side of Christmas. Honestly, thinking about Heaven and angels makes my stomach hurt.”

“Homesick?”

Flynn wearily nodded and set the plate on the coffee table. “Every time I think about how I’ll never see Heaven again, it hurts all over again.”

It killed Yuri to see Flynn like this. “You _could_ go back. I mean… I’m never going back because I chose to leave, but you could always choose to believe again.”

“It’s not that easy. I can’t believe again until I figure out an acceptable explanation for how Estelle was treated.”

“Maybe it doesn’t matter.”

Flynn looked up incredulously. “What do you mean, ‘it doesn’t matter’? Estelle almost died. Are you saying that doesn’t _matter_?”

“Whoa, no, I’d never say _that._ ” Yuri waved his hands. “I just mean, what Heaven ordered was obviously fucked up. Whether it came from the old man or just Phaeroh, condemning Estelle to death is a dick move and I can’t support that. But isn’t there an old caveat about hating the sin but loving the sinner? So maybe Heaven fucked up. Do you have to turn your back on them forever because of one bad move? You’ve forgiven me for loads of fuck ups.”

“Hm… that’s true, I have had to forgive an awful lot of stupid things from you.”

Yuri threw a cushion at him. “I feel like you’re getting the wrong message out of this.”

Flynn caught it and lowered it to his lap. “This seems like an awful large thing to forgive and forget though. How can I rationalize telling me to kill Estelle?”

“By deciding that one crap order in a few thousand years doesn’t mean you have to give up on them forever.”

“It’s not just this, though. It’s the principle of the thing, and what this means about all other orders. I don’t know if they’re actually coming from God. I’ve lost my faith that they are. Forgiving them for one heinous command can’t restore that faith.”

“Hm… yeah, that’s a bit trickier.”

Flynn’s hands clenched around the pillow. “I keep thinking, why hasn’t God shown up? The Horsemen are part of His plan. This isn’t a normal angel and demon feud. This is a big deal that could affect the fate of the world. He should intervene. And if He doesn’t, it means either He can’t, or He chooses not to, or He isn’t there.”

“Yeah… sorry, I’m the wrong guy to give you advice on this front.”

“So I’m going to have to figure out what to do as a human. You suggested joining the police. That’s a possibility, if I can figure out how to get paperwork giving me a legal identity. What about you? Are you going to keep working at The Comet?”

Yuri slid down the cushion and pressed his back against the couch. Hands folded on his chest and scowl on his face, he sighed. “I don’t know. It’s a dead end job but I don’t know where else I’m going to get a job without a social insurance number. I asked Raven how he got his gig, but since he’s on an official mission from Heaven, he had everything set up for him with a bit of holy magic.”

“Well, if you’re so ready to forgive them for what they ordered me to do to Estelle, why don’t you go back to Heaven?”

“Yeah, sure, wouldn’t I just fit right in? The world’s only atheist angel.”

“You’ve always been unique.”

“Why don’t we pile everything I own into my car and take a road-trip to the Pacific Ocean.” Yuri swept his hand past his face. “Imagine: two ex-angels on a journey of self-discovery to see the world.”

Flynn snorted. “Your car would never make it.”

Yuri reached for a pillow but he’d already thrown his at Flynn, so he leaned over and stole it from him just so he could throw it at Flynn’s head again. “Don’t be rude. She can hear you and then she won’t run. She runs on positive vibes.”

“Yeah, sure, it’s your car’s psychic abilities that make it run.”

“It’s certainly not the engine. Anyway, maybe we can join a motorcycle gang. Hell’s Angels. That would be funny, huh?”

“I don’t think I’d fit in with a motorcycle gang.”

“Sure you would. We just need to knit you a sweater with some little wool studs. It would be very cool.”

“I thought you wanted to help people. How does joining a biker gang solve that?”

“It doesn’t but I don’t know what else to do. Raven said the police would be too much like Heaven, and he would know. Same with joining the military. I’m all about fighting to protect people, but I’m not keen on any of the wars going on in the world and don’t much want to support them.” His hands dropped and smashed into the couch. “Taking it on all by myself isn’t accomplishing anything, but there aren’t any groups I can think of that won’t just piss me off the way Heaven did.”

“Maybe you’re looking at the wrong type of groups? You’ve always been a warrior, but if the fighting-type groups are the ones that tend toward corruption, maybe something peaceful? You could volunteer with a charity.”

“Yeah, that’s an idea.” It felt selfish to admit it, but part of the reason he rejected that was because he knew he would get bored. As much as he wanted to help people, if he did it sitting at a desk all day and never facing any risks, he’d die of boredom. Thousands of years as a soldier made it hard to adapt to peace.

“Maybe I’ll go with you.” Flynn idly squeezed the pillow. “It would give me something to do.”

“You know what we should do now?”

“Hm?”

Yuri pushed himself up. “Visit Estelle. It’s Christmas Eve and he’s in the hospital. Come on, we can find out how the movie ends on the hospital TV.”

“Let me guess, Santa forgives them and everyone gets presents and lives happily ever after?” Flynn rose and grabbed the spare jacket Yuri had lent him. Considering Yuri had gotten a new one because that one was so worn it barley insulated better than a paper bag, he wasn’t sure how useful it actually was.

“Aw, you’ve seen this one before, haven’t you?”

“I think I know the type.”

 

* * *

 

“Thank you for helping me so much,” Estelle said as Raven held the car door open for her.

“Ah, hey, it’s the least I can do after… ya know… kidnappin’ you and all.”

Estelle settled in as he rounded the car. One hand rested on her stomach, which dully throbbed. It was a Christmas miracle, the doctor said this morning when he cleared her to go home. She supposed it was - the one good thing Heaven had ever done for her. Her appreciation was diminished by the fact that Heaven was what caused the wound in the first place. It wasn’t Heaven that had healed her, it was Raven acting on his own. It wasn’t Heaven who’d ordered him to stand guard outside her room the entire time she was in the hospital, either. A few times she’d woken in the middle of the night to see him still awake in the hallway, and wondered how boring it must be. If this was his way of making it up to her for taking her to Alexei, he had earned her forgiveness as far as she was concerned.

Raven started his car and they pulled away from the hospital. “Are you sure you want ta meet this banker? Seems like a dull way to spend the holiday.”

“I just want to get this taken care of.” She wasn’t too keen on having a holly jolly Christmas anyway. Flynn and Yuri had come by this morning full of good tidings and cheer, but Christmas festivity just ground in her mother’s absence.

“Sure thing. Do ya have plans tonight?”

“Not really.”

“Judy and I were gonna have some drinks at Yuri’s place. You should come.”

“Yeah, maybe.” After a long silence during which she stared out the window, Estelle asked, “Raven… you still believe in God, right?” Obviously he did if he was still an angel.

“Sure.”

“Why?”

“Huh… well, I don’t really have a reason not ta.” He shrugged. “Maybe ‘cause I’ve been on Earth for so long, I didn’t notice He wasn’t showing up in Heaven. Sorry, I know why you’re asking, but I’ve never really questioned it. I feel like, if I’m gonna turn my back on everything I’ve known and strike out on my own, I need some positive confirmation that it’s all a lie. Silence isn’t enough to make me wanna leave the comfortable life I have.”

“Oh, I see. Thank you.” He was right; it wasn’t a very satisfying answer.

Raven parked and they stepped out into the frosty afternoon. The market would be closing for the season this afternoon, so it was currently packed with families enjoying the final day. Estelle tried to ignore the pangs of envy when she saw happy children with their parents. Estelle walked slowly, wincing with every step, and stayed near the edges of the crowd to avoid getting in the way.

“You shoulda told him ta meet you at the beer garden.” Raven had his hands in his coat pockets and a grin on his face.

“I’m not old enough to even enter,” she pointed out.

“I could sneak ya in. I’ll flash my badge and say it’s police business.”

Estelle glanced up to see if he was serious. It was hard to tell. “You’re a horrible police officer.”

Raven laughed, and then his phone rang to the tune of the Funeral March. “Ah, hold on, I have ta take this.” They stepped off the path and leaned against an old brick wall. “Yo.”

Estelle watched the crowds go by as Raven has a short conversation.

“I’m busy at the moment. Can it wait? ….Yes, I know…. Yes… All right, I get it, I’ll be right there.” He pocketed the phone and looked to Estelle with a scowl. “Sorry.”

“Is it a police thing?”

“Worse. War wants ta talk to me.”

She made a face and Raven chuckled. “Same. It’s fine, though. As long as I’m talkin’ ta him, we know he’s not out there lookin’ for you. Hurry up, I’ll walk ya to your meeting before War gets grumpy about how long I’m takin’.”

He charged ahead, and Estelle tried to keep pace. Her hand pressed against her aching stomach and she nearly lost him in the crowd. When he realized she wasn’t right behind him, he stepped back, said, “Oh, right, sorry,” and placed his hand on her stomach. There was a flash of light and the pain faded. Feeling more stiff than in pain, she was able to match his pace and hurry through the market.

They hurried through, giving her only fleeting impressions of the stalls they past. She smelled peppermint and cinnamon, saw snatches of holly and fir trees, and every few metres the background music changed to the next stall’s Christmas carol of choice. She jumped from “O Holy Night” to “Feliz Navidad” and then pointedly ignored the mouth-watering scent of maple fudge joined with the jingling of bells hanging above a stall. Christmas saturated the air and she couldn’t help but breathe it in. It warmed the bite of winter air and for a moment, she forgot to hate it. She didn’t _want_ to hate it, which was the problem. Estelle longed to tear down the gates and let the Christmas spirit flow in, but she couldn’t handle the grief that would flood in with it.

“Is that him?”

They’d reached the other side and Raven pointed at a thin man in a business suit standing on the corner.

Estelle nodded. “Yes, that’s Mr. Ragou.”

“Well, doesn’t he look like a delightful bowl of cheer.”

A smile twitched her lips. “He’s… all right.” He was a lot of things that she considered herself too polite to say aloud.

When they walked up to him, Ragou said, “Ah, Miss Heurassein, you’re late.”

Estelle frowned. “It’s 3:05.”

“And we agreed to meet at three. Punctuality is important.”

“It’s my fault.” Raven slid into the conversation. “I wouldn’t let her enter the market until I confirmed it was safe. Constable Altosk, Zaphias PD, nice ta meet’cha.” He stuck out his hand and Ragou took it like some dirty rag.

“Charmed,” he sneered.

“This little lady,” Raven slung his arm around Estelle’s shoulders and pulled her against him, “us under police protection for the present. I’ll let ya have your business meetin’, but I’ll be in the area in case anyone shows up ta give her grief.” His eyes carried an unstated, _and that includes you, bucko._

Of course Raven wouldn’t actually be able to hang around, but Ragou didn’t need to know that. Estelle wasn’t actually afraid of Ragou trying to harm her, though. He was creepy and unpleasant, but he was a banker, not a homicidal Horseman of the Apocalypse. On the scale of people she was legitimately afraid of, he ranked rather low.

“Where did you want to talk?” Estelle asked.

“There is a wine house just down the road. They will be open until five.”

“Ok, I’ll leave you kids to talk!” Raven waved as he walked away. “Give me a holler if you need anythin’, Estelle!”

“I will, thank you!” When he had disappeared into the crowd, she and Ragou walked down the road. It was a silent walk; neither of them were keen on chit-chat.

They stopped before a glass-fronted building. Inside, rows and rows of wine bottles lined the walls and people sat around chest-high tables.

“You can look over the menu to see if it’s satisfactory,” Ragou gestured to a black sign covered in curly white text. “This restaurant does serve a more… mature clientele. You’re unlikely to find… cheeseburgers or chicken wings or whatever it is teenagers eat.”

She suppressed a scowl and glanced over the menu. Even if there hadn’t been a single thing she liked, she wouldn’t have admitted it to him. Just as she was about to confirm they could go in, something small, round, and hard pressed against the small of her back.

“Don’t react,” Ragou said lightly. “I don’t think you’d die from getting shot here, but I wouldn’t want to chance it, hm?”

Estelle couldn’t have reacted even if she wanted to. She froze stiffer than the icicle hanging from the roof and had to force air into her lungs. “M-Mr. Ragou?”

“Walk with me and don’t make a fuss.”

They turned away from the restaurant and crossed the street. Ragou walked close to her, probably hiding the gun from onlookers with his jacket but she was too frightened to check. On the other side of the street, he led her past a red brick building that took up a large corner of the block. Across the road, Christmas music and the murmurings of happy crowds drifted to her ears, but they might as well be across the country for all the good they did her. They turned a corner and walked further away from the market.

“Raven is going to be looking for me.” She managed to keep her voice level as they rounded the building. There was a small parking lot and an old green door set into the brick.

“Then it’s a good thing he’s not around, isn’t it?” He opened the door and pushed her inside.

At first she couldn’t see a thing in the dark building, but as Ragou forced her to walk forward her eyes gradually adjusted. The only light was what could filter through the cracks around the green shutters, illuminating wooden barrel racks from wall to wall.

“Turn right.”

She turned and kept walking until she reached the corner of the warehouse and then was instructed to turn and walk to the far end. “There’s really no point in kidnapping me,” she tried. “All the money is mine. Nobody who cares about me can pay any sort of ransom.”

“Leave the planning to me, Miss Heurassein.”

Why did this keep happening to her? First Cumore, then Alexei, and now Ragou. Mankind may be born unto trouble, but she’d somehow turned into a magnet for it. At the end of the building was a staircase and Ragou instructed her to walk up. The steps creaked and she imagined them collapsing under Ragou and crushing him. This building was over a hundred years old; it couldn’t be that stable.

The room upstairs looked similar to the first. Empty wooden racks filled the interior and Ragou directed her to a wooden table lit by a candelabra with three arms. “Sit down.”

She’d rather not, but his gun was quite convincing. As soon as she was seated, Ragou grabbed a handcuff already attached to a beam of the barrel rack beside the chair. The other end snapped around her left wrist and Ragou pocketed his gun. Estelle clenched her fist; the metal was cold and her chest hammered. Ragou opened his briefcase and sorted around for a moment before pulling out a sheaf of papers and a pen.

“There we go.” He set these on the table before her. “Now, this is going to be very simple Miss Heurassein. All you have to do is initial these forms where indicated and then sign the bottom.”

Estelle pulled the papers closer so she could examine them. She flipped through them quickly, eyes darting over the lines and hand never reaching for the pen. “This is a revision of the charities my money will be distributed to in the event of my death.”

“Excellent reading comprehension skills. Sign it.”

She looked up. “These aren’t real charities, are they?” Fear was an excellent grease for the gears of the mind. “Let me guess, all their accounts trace back to you?”

Ragou shrugged. “Some of them are actual charities. The ones with the largest percentages. You’ll be happy to know that a non-insignificant amount of your mother’s money will indeed be going to starving orphans in Africa or whatever the hell those charities are for.”

And all the rest would go to him. Sure, the few with the largest percentages - the ones most likely to be investigated - were legitimate, but she’d bet the entire fortune that the rest of the recipients, whose accumulated percentages added up to far more than the few big ones, would somehow or another find its way back to Ragou’s personal bank account. “Those transfers I asked you about went to you, didn’t they?”

“Just sign the forms.”

“You’ve been stealing from me this whole time. Stealing from my mother.”

“The fact that it took you this long to catch on just proves you aren’t old enough to handle this money anyway.”

“And now that you won’t be managing the trust anymore, you decided to just take all of it.”

Ragou rested one hand on the back of her chair and leaned over. “You’re wasting my time. Just sign the forms and you can go on your merry way.”

Estelle recoiled; he smelled like grease. She tilted her head enough to meet his pinched expression and said, “I’m not stupid. These say you get my money if I die. You’re going to shoot me as soon as I sign them.”

Ragou smirked, making his moustache twitch. “I can shoot a lot of places that won’t kill you.”

Estelle took a deep, shaking breath and then closed her eyes. “Fine. Shoot me.” An icy calm settled over her. She had no wish to die, but the attacks on her life were becoming so wearisome that she almost welcomed one of them succeeding just to save her the pain and trauma of another attempt later on. Cumore, Alexei, Sodia… she was tired of it all. Besides, “The police know I’m with you. When I show up dead the same day I signed papers changing my will, do you really think they won’t suspect anything?”

“Ah, but you’ve been in the process of modifying your will for the past four months.”

Her eyes snapped open. “Wait, what? I have not.”

“That’s not what the official records show. You’ve had multiple meetings with me in the past few months to carefully modify the will. As a diligent banker, I’ve of course got thorough documentation proving these meetings occurred and multiple people can verify they witnessed you coming to the bank those days.”

“But…” All those useless meetings he insisted she attend. The ones where they went over nothing new and she signed things that just confirmed what was already in place.

“When you sign the bottom of this one, do write the date as December tenth. According to computer records, that will have been the date everything was finalized.”

“I’m not signing it.” She pushed the paper and pen to the edge of the table. Her right hand rested on her lap and she held herself stiff to keep from trembling. He was probably going to shoot her at some point tonight, but if she was going to die, she’d die with her mom’s money going to the right people. It was the least she could do. “You can hurt me if you want, but…” she swallowed a lump and fought to regain control of her voice, “but if it looks like I was tortured, then they’re just going to look into it in depth.”

“Hm… so you’re going to be stubborn about this? Very well.” Ragou put the forms back into his briefcase and then left her alone. Before heading down the stairs, he paused to look back and said, “I’ll return soon. While you wait, I encourage you to consider the many ways of hurting someone that don’t leave physical marks. Consider your options.”

Estelle remained motionless until his footsteps reached the bottom of the stairs, and then she fell forward and buried her face in her hand.

 


	17. Chestnuts Roasting

Unlike Conquest, War didn't bother living in luxury. He liked to live near what he called "the action", which just meant the most crime-ridden parts of the city. It was no coincidence that since he'd moved into his building, there's been a small but noticeable spike in crime rates. Spending too much time around Famine kicked off hunger pangs, and War's presence radiated chaos.

"What do ya need?" Raven stood just inside his apartment with his arms crossed. The place was a mess; he doubted War ever cleaned.

"You need to go to the pizza place around the corner."

Raven stared at him for a second. "That's it? You want a pizza?"

"Yeah. They banned me 'cause they said there's always problems with my card and I punched the cashier in the face that one time. So you need to go and get it for me."

Raven pressed his forehead into his palm. "Can't you go ta one of the literally hundreds of other pizza joints in Zaphias?"

"No, I like this one. Go get me a large meat lovers pizza - and none of that hot and ready bullshit. I want it fresh."

"I'm actually rather busy today, so are you sure there's no way you can-"

"Is it a job for one of the others?"

"Well, no, but-"

"Then go. That's your job, ain't it? To do whatever we tell you to?"

Raven withheld a frustrated sigh. "Yes, sir."

This was such a waste of time. He flew to the pizza place so fast he almost crashed into it like a dumb bird, and then spent his own hard-earned money on the damn pizza. While sitting against the wall and waiting impatiently, he considered just how much he needed a better job. Getting a better job would mean becoming human, though, and that was a big decision. He wasn't sure if he was ready to make that kind of commitment. He disliked working for the Horsemen, but he still liked Heaven in general. It had its problems, but he wasn't ready to give up on God. Maybe he could convince one of the higher-ups to transfer him to a different position.

The pizza took over twenty minutes to prepare, and then he rushed back to War's apartment. "Here." He shoved it at him like the world's surliest pizza delivery boy.

"Took you long enough," War grumbled and tossed it to his table.

"So sorry I couldn't accelerate the process by which dough turns into bread."

"You didn't get me a drink."

"What?"

"What am I supposed to drink with this? Tap water?"

"That's a conceivable solution."

"Hell no. Go get me a litre of pop."

"Are you certain you can't do that yourself?"

"I said go!"

He'd waste more time arguing about this, so Raven marched out of the building and took to the air again. Every time he found himself on an inane errand for one of the Horsemen, he decided that  _this_  one was his least favourite. They were all obnoxious in their own special ways, except for Death who had never asked him for anything. In fact, Raven had only spoken to the guy once several thousand years ago, and didn't look forward to doing it again. He gave him the heebie-jeebies.

At the grocery store, Raven grabbed the first bottle of pop he found without even caring what flavour it was. He only slowed down when the cashier gave him a frightened look and he realized he'd thrown the money at her rather angrily.

"Sorry," he muttered. It was bad enough the poor girl had to work on Christmas Eve without customers taking their frustration out on her.

"It's ok, sir. Stressful day?"

"Oh, you know how the holidays can be." He grabbed the bottle and stuck it under his arm. "I don't need a bag. Keep the change. Merry Christmas."

Considering he'd handed her a twenty, her face lit up. "Oh! Thank you, sir."

Back at War's apartment, he slammed the jug on the table. "Happy now?" He glanced at the clock on the microwave. He'd now wasted forty five minutes running errands. Estelle must be done with her meeting by now and waiting for him.

"I need something else," War said, but then his phone beeped. He glanced at it and then grinned. "Actually, never mind. Looks like Ragou's taken care of everything."

Realization struck like a knife. "You bastard."

War grabbed a slice of pizza and walked to the door. "Thanks for the grub."

Raven charged at him, but the second he got close, War grabbed the front of his shirt, slammed him to the ground, and then smashed his boot into Raven's knee with a crack. "See you later, Schwann." The door clicked shut.

"Fuck," Raven hissed, clutching his shattered knee cap. He could feel the pieces clicking as they put themselves back together, but it was taking too long. From outside, he heard a motorcycle engine rev. " _Fuck_!"

He'd thought this was a waste of time, and it had been exactly that. How long had War been in cahoots with Ragou? God  _damn_ , this whole rotten lunch quest was just a ruse to separate him from Estelle. He pushed himself up and tried to hop on one foot to the window. The door was too slow; he'd leap out and fly after him. After a few hops he lost his balance, came down on his bad leg and crashed to the floor. "I'm going to kill that bastard!"

* * *

 

"I still don't see how this is a Christmas movie," Flynn said, lounging on the couch. On the TV, Bruce Willis fired a machine gun at German terrorists.

"He wrote 'ho ho ho' on the guy's chest after killing him and taking his machine gun," Judy said. "I don't see how you can get more Christmassy than that."

"Yeah." Yuri stirred a sweet sauce on the stove. "And when he gets injured, there's red blood on his white shirt. Red and white are Christmas colours. He's basically Santa Claus."

"Exactly," Judy said. "Santa Claus bringing the gift of sweet, machine gun-induced death."

Yuri poured the sauce into a bowl and then carried it and a plate of sliced hot dogs to the couch. "Ho ho ho, motherfuckers. I watch this every year."

Flynn speared a hot dog piece with a toothpick. "Why am I not surprised? I think I liked the one with the mice more."

It was crowded with all three of them in the couch, but they leaned together to reach the sauce. Yuri popped a hot dog in his mouth as a loud banging hit the door. "Finally he shows up," he muttered and jumped off the couch. When he opened the door, Raven pushed his way in.

"We've got trouble."

Judy dropped her toothpick. "What now?"

"War's got Estelle."

"Dammit," Yuri seethed. "What happened? I thought you were driving her home."

He closed the door and sat on the arm of the couch. "She had ta stop for a business meetin' with her banker, Ragou. Just before we arrived, War wanted me ta run some errands for him. So I left her with the banker and -"

"You left her alone?" Flynn glared at him.

Raven punched the couch with a groan. "No, I left her in a crowded public place at the Christmas market with a banker she's known for over a year. She doesn't like the guy but she didn't tell me she had any reason ta think he was crooked!"

"What happened?" Judy asked.

"War called me away and had me run some useless errands. Then it turns out he was just distractin' me and he's in cahoots with her banker. He broke my leg to keep me from followin' him and took off. Ragou texted War about forty-five minutes after I left them. He could have driven anywhere in the city by then."

Judy leapt up and grabbed her coat. "I'm going to the station. War's out of our league, but Ragou's a normal human. We can track him. Search camera footage, car sightings, phone records."

"Alexei and Cumore are gonna get involved," Raven said. "As soon as they find out War's making his move, they're gonna wanna help, and their 'help' will be ta kill Estelle."

"You take care of those idiots, old man," Yuri said. "I don't care what you tell them, but keep them occupied so they don't get anywhere near Estelle."

"Yuri and I will go to the market," Flynn said. "Someone might have seen what direction they left."

Plans made, they dashed out of the house. Yuri detoured only to grab his sword from his bedroom, just in case. Flynn slipped on the driveway and skidded forward several feet before Yuri caught his arm and kept him from falling flat on his face.

"Thanks," Flynn tossed out as he swung open the door of Yuri's car. They left the house by car, motorcycle, and wing, and then took off into the night.

As they drove, Flynn folded and unfolded his hands on his lap "I met War at the bank. I assumed he was just there for Estelle, but then he left without even trying to talk to her. He must have actually been there to talk to Ragou." He breathed deeply. "I should have realized."

"Nothing you can do about it now."

"You're speeding."

"Really?" He turned his head to Flynn. "You're going to get into this  _now_?"

"We can't help Estelle if we get pulled over."

Just to spite him, Yuri sped up as much as he dared. "I'd go faster, but I don't think my car would stay in one piece."

"I wish I could go to Heaven and get help."

"No, Heaven would just send someone down to kill her."

"True."

* * *

 

Estelle had spent the past who-knew-how-long trying to pick the lock on the handcuff. She knew there was a trick to it, but had no idea what the trick might be. Maybe it was because her hands were shaking so much.

Part of that was the cold. The only source of light or warmth were the candles in the brass holder sitting a few feet from her. Other than that, this drafty old warehouse did little to protect from the cold. She buried her frigid nose in her scarf and tried to warm her hands. When she arrived, daylight had been visible around the cracks of the windows, but it was growing dim now. It got dark so early in December.

The other part was that she was terrified. When Ragou came back, he was probably going to shoot her. Even if she survived this, she'd probably be killed by War or Alexei or Cumore or someone from Heaven. None of this was fair. Judy was a cop and Yuri, Flynn, and Raven were angelic warriors, but she was just a high school student. All she wanted was to finish high school and get accepted into a good university, and she'd thought this last year would be difficult enough after Mom died. Now everything was happening all at once and she didn't know how to deal with any of it.

Some way to spend Christmas Eve. She hadn't thought it was possible to get any lower than that awful night last year, sitting alone in an empty living room (there hadn't been time to decorate or get a tree with Mom in the hospital) and trying to keep from crying less than a week after Mom died.

Sounds from outside got quieter as the Christmas market cleared out. Everyone was going home to their families, leaving her alone to die. They hadn't been any use, of course. Her voice wasn't loud enough to carry through the brick walls and across the street, so she'd given up trying. Still, it felt nice to at least feel that people were nearby.

 _I need to keep calm_. Crying and losing it wasn't going to get her out of here. If Mom were here, she'd tell her to be brave. Maybe she wasn't cut out for all this thriller novel abduction and murder, but she had friends who were. Raven would have come back and found her missing by now. He'd tell the others, and they must be looking for her. She could trust them, so all she had to do was sit tight and put her faith in the people who knew what they were doing. Pull herself together, and make sure she was ready to escape the moment rescue arrived.

In an effort to keep her spirits up, she mumbled the lyrics to a song as she waited. "Angels we have heard on high… sweetly singing o'er the plains…" Her voice wavered and she squeezed her eyes to dispel the built up tears. December eighteenth, one year ago. Mom squeezed her hand as tightly as she could, smiled at her, and told her not be afraid. Mom must have been in so much pain, but she'd still mustered the strength not for herself, but for Estelle. She'd faced death with courage, and Estelle was determined to do the same. "And the mountains in reply…" She rubbed her eyes on her sleeve. "Echoing their joyous strains."

Warmth seeped into her heart as she held the extended melody of 'gloria'. She remembered standing on tip-toes to peek at the lyrics in the hymn book Mom held at church even though she couldn't read yet, and Mom giving her a little smile as she paused to gasp for a breath before finishing. Estelle hadn't known Rita when she was that small, but she must have been there, too, either squirming on a pew or waiting with the other toddlers in the nursery.

The words of the song did more than just take her mind off her fear, they connected her to the past. Like a spool of thread, the words unwound from her voice and tied her to Mom. The familiar ache nearly strangled her, but she kept going and found there was something else beyond the gaping chasm of loss. There was strength, and bravery, and so much love it couldn't be contained in one lifetime and spread out for her even after death. Then the connection spread out like a web and connected her to everyone she'd ever sung that song with. Her heart landed on Rita, and Ioder and the rest of the congregation that had sent her flowers when she was in the hospital. There was so much love to be found, and she wanted to throw herself into it if only her friends got here before Ragou returned.

Her voice cut off when she heard a door slam and footsteps. There were voices, too, and it didn't sound like her friends. She shuddered and braced herself as the footsteps came up the stairs.  _Be brave like Mom_.

Two men entered the room. The first was Ragou, and the second was a man she didn't recognize. This one strode toward her and Estelle leaned against the rack to increase their distance.

"So, this is the girl, huh?"

"That's right," Ragou said.

"The name's War," the man said, and everything clicked into place in her brain. "So, you think you're safe because Ragou won't get the money if there's any indication your were tortured, huh?"

Estelle took a second to compose herself and keep her voice level. "That's right. And the police know I've been kidnapped. They'll know I was murdered and won't let the money transfer go through, so there's no point killing me."

"Yeah, maybe," War said. He grabbed the lapel of her jacket and shoved her back against the barrel racks. "But have you considered this, girl? What happens when someone with no provable ties to Ragou is seen dumping your body and confesses to the murder? And poor Mr. Ragou is rescued because he was also kidnapped by the murderer during your little business meeting?"

Estelle tried to keep her face expressionless, but she wasn't sure if she succeeded. He was right. If War took the fall for this, they had no way to prove Ragou was involved. War didn't have any legal existence - it would be impossible to tie him to Ragou. Ragou would be an innocent victim, the bank wouldn't be suspicious enough to double-check the lengthy list of charities once her official bank manager verified them, and all Mom's money would be split between these two awful people.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way," War said. "Sign these papers and get everything sorted out, and we'll shoot you in the head nice and quick." A thick finger poked her forehead and her whole body shuddered. "Or, we can put this off and make me get  _persuasive_  and ensure the coroner gets a uniquely interesting corpse to examine as a Christmas present. What'll it be?"

She took in her options. Ragou still had his gun, her wrist was cuffed to the wooden rack behind her, and War was so strong he could probably crush her head in his hand like an eggshell. The candles softly glowed, as dim as her prospects.  _The others are coming_ , she told herself.  _Eventually_. She just needed to stall for time, but she had no idea how long it would take them to find her. Under no circumstances could she sign those papers, but the angry glint on War's face made it clear he wasn't just bluffing. Just what was he going to do to her if she stalled?  _Oh God…_.

"Ok," she whispered. "Ok… I'll do it. Just - just give me the papers."

War smiled. "See? I told you she could be cooperative."

He released her and she slid back into the chair. The jingling cuff reminded her there was no chance to run away. Ragou pulled his forms out of the briefcase and put them in front of her. Before picking up the pen, Estelle stared at them with a knot in her chest. Then she grabbed them and then stuck them into the candles.

The papers caught immediately. Fire curled across the forms as both War and Ragou exclaimed and reached for them. Estelle threw them like a Frisbee and the papers slid across the floor and then slipped through the old floorboards and disappeared. By the time Ragou or War could go after them, they'd be nothing but ash.

They apparently realized that too, because War shouted in rage and slammed her against the rack. The whole wooden structure shuddered and it took her a second to get her senses back.

"Oops," she said. "My hand slipped."

"You little brat," War spat. "You'll pay for that."

"You can always print more," she pointed out. "Once Ragou can get back into his office after Boxing Day." There were now two days before they could make her sign anything, and she  _knew_  her friends would be here before that. Although… considering the look on War's face, she shuddered to imagine what kind of condition she'd be in when they arrived.

* * *

 

"This is pointless!" Yuri kicked a chunk of snow and glared at it as it bounced down the lane and disintegrated. The Christmas market was nearly deserted now. They'd asked everyone they could find if they'd seen Estelle, but they didn't have any pictures of her and didn't even know what Ragou looked like. The market was going to close and they'd be kicked out of the district, and still have no clues as to where Ragou took Estelle. "This is the worst Christmas I've ever had."

"What about that time in Rome when you got set on fire because Nero wanted to round up all the Christians?"

Yuri considered for a moment, and then conceded, "Ok, second worse." Not because of himself, because as much as that had hurt like a bitch, he'd healed pretty quickly. It was the human Christians he'd been hanging out with that hadn't been so lucky. Sometimes he was glad to be mortal now, because it was better than constantly outliving people. "This is only the second worst because this time we're going to get all our friends out alive."

His phone rang and he put it on speaker so Flynn could listen. "Judy?"

"Raven just called me. He's got Alexei and Cumore convinced War took her across the border to Dahngrest. He's leading them on a wild goose chase so at least we don't have to worry about them. I got a tape from the restaurant they were going to. It shows them arrive but then walk away. There aren't any cameras elsewhere on the road. I have Ragou's address, though, and it's within forty-five minutes driving, depending on traffic. I'm heading out to his place in case he took her there."

"That doesn't make sense," Flynn said. "He'd know his house is the first place the police would look."

"Right, but there may be clues."

"Wait." Yuri frowned in thought. "What if Ragou didn't text War immediately after taking Estelle to their rendezvous? He could have just been stalling for time."

"It's also possible he contacted War while driving, nowhere near the final destination," Flynn said. "They could be anywhere in or out of the city."

Yuri might not have wings anymore, but his mind raced like it still did. "But why did they meet at the Christmas market? I don't know if it was Estelle's idea or Ragou's, but it seems a weird place to meet to talk about banking. There's a coffee shop on every corner that would get that accomplished without all the tourists and music to get in the way."

"Do you have a theory?" Judy asked.

"I might. Come on, Flynn."

They took off. Yuri nearly crashed into a man dressed as Santa and they leapt over boxes as the stall owners packed away their wares for the season. Yuri had left the call running, so Judy was likely hearing nothing but rustling as is jostled in his coat pocket. When he reached the street, Flynn caught the back of his collar and yanked him back a few seconds before a bus rushed by. The moment the street was clear, they raced across the road to the old brick warehouse on the corner. Yuri hadn't been entirely aware of his surroundings coming in or out the last time he was here, but this was the only block with distillery buildings across the road and when he saw the parking lot, he knew they were in the right place.

"That's War's motorcycle!" Yuri wasn't actually sure, but what were the chances some other guy with a red motorcycle had parked it behind an old warehouse on Christmas Eve?

"You found him?" came Judy's voice from his pocket.

Yuri whipped out his phone. "This is the building War brought me to last week when he kicked my ass. Estelle must be inside."

"I'll be there in ten minutes. Don't go inside until I get there."

"Hell no. Sorry, Judy, but Estelle can't wait."

"Figured you'd say that, but I feel obligated as a cop to tell you not to. You're only human."

"I'm still pretty angel," Flynn said. "I may not be able to shake of a shot to the chest anymore, but I'm much stronger than most humans."

"All right, just be careful. I'm on my way."

Yuri slipped the phone back into his pocket and then looked to Flynn. "Here." He pulled his sword out of his belt. "You should hold this."

"But it's yours."

"Yeah, but you're right. You're much more angel than me. If anyone is going to wield the weapon, it should be the person who can do it best." He shrugged. "I'm human. Fighting evil as a lone swordsman isn't really my thing anymore."

"In that case, it isn't mine either. I'm never going back to Heaven, either."

"Sure you're not. Just take the damn sword."

Flynn frowned but took it. Yuri grabbed the door handle and rattled its hinges. "Damn… it's locked."

"Let me try." Flynn gave the door a solid kick, but all he got was a firm  _thunk_.

"It opens outward," Yuri pointed out. "You can't kick it in."

"We could smash the whole door down."

Yuri ran his hand over the peeling green paint. "With what? Even as an angel, I don't think I'd be strong enough to bash down a door this thick."

"Windows are locked, too," Flynn said after rattling one.

They were covered in old wood similar to the door's, so they didn't even have access to the glass to smash it. Maybe the ones higher up wouldn't be as secure, but neither of them could fly anymore. Dammit, Estelle was so close but a god damned door was in their way. If only he could crash right through the wall like that giant pitcher of Kool-Aid in the commercials. "Hold on. I have a plan."

Five minutes later, they were back in the parking lot. This time, Flynn sat behind the wheel of Yuri's car, facing the door. "Are you sure this will work? I don't even know how to drive."

"You don't have to drive, you just have to crash." Yuri stood next to the open window and caressed the frame. "I'm sorry, old girl. You deserve better, but Estelle needs you." It ought to be him doing this, but Flynn had insisted. If anyone was going to get hurt, it should be the one whose healing ability was still mostly intact. "Remember, just slam on the accelerator."

"Got it."

Yuri stepped back. He had been through a lot with that car. She'd taken him all over the city and given him a place to sleep before he found his basement, and was the first thing he'd ever gotten after he dropped from Heaven. She was such a major part of his identity as a human, but now it was time to let her go.

The wheels screeched as Flynn charged to the door.

* * *

 

Estelle was holding her broken wrist against her stomach when she smelled the smoke. Perhaps the warmth wasn't just her getting used to the cold. She pictured the burning paper slipping through the cracks in the floor, down to all the old dry wood below….

"Um… excuse me."

War and Ragou were talking near the wall, probably arguing over how much War was allowed to hurt her. Ragou glanced at her and snapped, "Be quiet."

"Do you guys smell smoke?"

Then the building shook with a crash and both their heads snapped to the door.

"The hell was that?" War growled.

"Someone must have figured out where we are. You take care of them."

War stomped down the steps and Ragou pulled his gun.

"You're causing a lot of trouble for us."

"Then you shouldn't have kidnapped me!" Her throat tickled from the smoke and she was starting to feel too warm with her jacket on. "We need to get out of here. The room downstairs is on fire!"

"I'm not falling for that. You're staying right there!"

She tugged at the handcuff in frustration. "You're being stupid. All that old wood downstairs is going to burn quickly. We need to evacuate!"

Gunshots fired off below. Did War have a gun? She prayed it was Judy. Something crashed, like a body smashing into the barrel racks, and she heard Yuri's voice shouting orders to Flynn. She couldn't hide her smile;  _they came_.

Ragou checked the stairway, and then hurried back with a pale face. "The whole room is on fire!"

"That's what I've been saying!" Smoke was curling through the cracks between floorboards now and sweat ran down the back of her neck. The handcuff rattled as she tugged and tried not to imagine being stuck here when the fire reached the second floor. Based on the heat, that would happen fast. The small flame from the burning paper had taken some time to take hold, but the more wood that went up in flames, the faster it spread. This warehouse was basically a brick oven filled with kindling.

"This would never have happened if you had just signed those forms like a good girl!"

"So you could have just shot me?"

The gun whipped to her face, shaking. "That's not off the table, you brat! This is all your fault!"

There was no time to argue this point, because she yelled, "The floor is on fire!" She could see it in the middle of the room, through the racks. Flames licked the floorboards while blackening wood spread like liquid soaking into a carpet. It must be burning from the underside as well.

Ragou's moustache quivered in fear. "Damn!" He ran toward her and fumbled with the key for the handcuff. For a moment she was afraid he'd drop it and leave her to burn, but he managed to uncuff her. "Come with me!" He had his gun pointed at her waist, and in his panic he would be more trigger-happy than usual. Instead of running toward the stairs close to them, he took her across the room to the other staircase, presumably to avoid her friends. The steps leading down were already on fire, so Ragou started pulling her up the ascending stairs.

"No! We need to get out!" The fire was reaching the barrel racks now. Those old, dry beams were a fire's dream. "We must go back to the other staircase!"

"And take you down to where your friends are so they can ruin everything? I'm not stupid. There's a fire escape from the roof."

She pulled her scarf over her face as she ran to combat the smoke. The fire was really picking up speed now, consuming the floor like a hungry beast. Estelle's eyes watered from the smoke and she dug her heels into the ground. "No! Smoke rises! We'll die if we-" she cut off with a cough, "-go all the way up!" The heat was unbearable now, but she was too focused on getting out of here to stop and take off her coat.

"I'm not falling for that. Now come!"

This whole month had been an endless parade of being pushed around, kidnapped, stalked, or directed. People kept telling her where to go and what to do, and most of them did it through force. She felt like a pebble thrown into a river and rushed away by forces beyond her control. But now, she was grounding herself. He could shoot her if he wanted, but if they kept going higher, they would die of smoke inhalation.

She punched Ragou in the side as hard as she could with her left hand, and then with her right she elbowed him in the chest. He coughed in surprise and dropped the gun while falling onto the stairs. Estelle snatched it off the ground and turned, to be met by a wall of fire.

No, that wasn't right. It was the racks in the middle of the room that were aflame, and there were so many of them it filled the entire room. Heat scorched her face like she was staring into the door of an oven. The shimmering flames mesmerized her, but then she heard Ragou getting up and started running. She still had a straight shot along the wall to the other stairs, but it might be swallowed by fire within a minute.

Estelle sprinted. The floorboards creaked and she could feel them cracking under her feet. Hundred-year-old wood didn't hold together well when all the support beams were burning away and the undersides were getting licked by flames. To her right, the fire raged. It roared like a mighty wind, occasionally broken up by the clatter of falling beams or chunks of floor falling below.

Something crashed, and then a section of burning racks collapsed and toppled to the side. It smashed to the ground only a few feet in front of her and Estelle leapt back to avoid the cloud of sparks. She could see the exit through the heap of burning wood, but trying to get over that pile would be suicide. That was ok, she could go around the long way. Estelle turned around and faced Ragou, slowly walking toward her.

"You're coming with me, girl," he snarled and took another step forward. The floorboards groaned under his weight. "We're escaping from the roof and then you're signing over everything to me. I've worked on this for too long to let you go now!"

Estelle clutched the gun in her left hand. It wobbled with nerves, but she shouted through her scarf, "Stay back! Your plan will get us both killed!"

"Put that thing down, you silly little girl. You don't know how to use it!"

Her eyes blurred with smoke and her finger rested on the trigger. "I don't want to shoot you, Mr. Ragou, but I will if you don't stay away from me!" She took a step back as he got closer, but the heat behind her was so intense she couldn't move any further away. "Just move aside and let me through."

"You don't even deserve any of that money! I'm the one who managed it all year!"

"You stole from my mother!" She squeezed the trigger and a bullet flew over Ragou's shoulder to the far wall. Estelle didn't even know if she'd wanted to hit him. The idea of shooting a man seemed impossible, but what choice did she have? She coughed into the scarf and rubbed her watering eyes on her shoulder. "I won't miss next time!"

"Ha! You couldn't aim that thing if you tried!" The floor groaned again.

Under her feet, Estelle could feel boards shifting on a thick wooden support beam. A few metres away, under Ragou, was nothing but an expanse of floorboards. "You need to stop moving! The floor isn't going to support you!"

"Estelle!"

She spared a glance over her shoulder and saw Flynn and Yuri barrelling up the stairs. The railing was on fire, but the steps themselves still held. Flynn's sword gleamed in the shifting orange light.

"We're coming!"

"Dammit!" Ragou glared daggers at them as the pair ran the other way to loop around the burning racks. "We're out of time, girl. You're coming with me!"

He started to run, and in a panic Estelle fired the gun. Her hand moved of its own accord to avoid aiming at an actual person, dropping low and shooting the floor. The boards splintered from the impact and then kept splintering. For a fraction of a second, Ragou stared at her like the Coyote in the moment he realized the road was gone, and then gravity took hold. Estelle dropped the gun and pressed her hands over her ears to smother his awful shriek as the fire gobbled him up.

Estelle's whole body trembled, sending stabs of pain through her wrist. She couldn't even blame it on the cold, now, because the heat was a tangible force searing into her from all sides. Ragou was dead and she was, in part, responsible for that. He would have killed her, but knowing that couldn't shake the horror clawing at her chest that she had killed a man. This was good, she told herself while pressing against the brick wall to get as far away from the fire as possible. The fact that even being indirectly responsible for his death made her want to throw up meant she wasn't like him.

"Estelle!" Yuri charged toward her.

"Stay back!" She coughed again as she got another mouthful of smoke and her head spun. "The floor is unstable."

She pressed against the brick wall on her right. Behind her, the pile of fallen wood burned and took hold on the floor. To her left, the wall of fire was so bright she couldn't look directly at it. And in front, Yuri and Flynn stood on the other side of a hole in the floor about eight feet wide.

"You're going to have to jump," Flynn said.

Estelle took one look at the fire raging below the hole and shook her head. "I can't jump that far."

"You're going to have to." Yuri's eyes snapped to the fire around her. Her section of the floor was now on fire, and within a couple of minutes she'd either fall below or be consumed by the flames engulfing her island.

"I can't! We've done long jumping during Gym and I know I can't jump that far!" Her eyes turned to the gun at her feet. It might be easier to die of a bullet in the head than to burn to death….

"I'm coming to get you," Flynn said. "Stay away from the edge."

There was no time to argue. He took a few steps back, gave himself a running start, and then leaped over the gap. The whole floor shuddered as he smashed into the landing and for a moment Estelle feared it would give way. "Get on my back. I'm going to carry you across."

"Can you make it with my weight?"

Fire shone in his smiling eyes. "Don't you trust me?"

It took less than a second to decide. Estelle wrapped her arms around Flynn's neck and got into piggyback position. His arms tightly held her legs as he readied himself for the leap. This time he wouldn't be able to get a running start, and her weight would hold him down. Her heart drummed so hard she was sure he could feel it pressed against his back.

But she did trust him. It was knowing her friends would be here to help that had given her the strength to defy Ragou and War in the first place. She couldn't put her faith in God, but she could put it in her friends and loved ones. Maybe God was guiding all the events that had unfolded, or maybe He had abandoned the world long ago. What mattered was that Heaven had brought Flynn to her, church had brought her to Rita and kept her close to her mom, and the chance of life had brought Yuri and the others into her life. It was nice to think that God was looking out for her all along, but in this moment the only thing she could truly believe in was Flynn.

He leapt. The heat scorched her face as they soared over the fire below. He landed right on the lip of the floor, and Estelle's stomach dropped as gravity shifted and they started to fall back. A split-second later, Yuri yanked them forward and all three of them collapsed.

"Thank you," Estelle gasped when she could speak again.

"We're not out of the woods yet," Yuri jumped back to his feet and then helped her up. "The other side of the building closed off as we were running through."

"We can't get back to the stairs?"

"No." Flynn dusted himself off. "We need to go up."

"But the smoke-"

"We'll open the windows and stick our heads out until the firefighters arrive." Yuri grabbed her elbow and pulled her toward the stairs. "If we stay down here, we'll roast like a turkey for Christmas dinner."

The three of them ran upstairs. This floor was identical to the one below, except it wasn't yet consumed by fire. On the opposite end of the room, though, orange flames chewed through the floor. It would only take a few minutes for the barrel racks up here to light as well. Flynn ran to a window and smashed it with his sword. After clearing the glass, he grunted as he pried the rusty latch away. The shutter swung open like a small, arched door. All three of them stuck their heads out to the refreshing air and Estelle gasped for breath. The smoke was even thicker up here and breathing through her scarf made little difference.

She had never been so happy to hear sirens. Fire trucks barrelled down the road toward the warehouse and she prayed they'd get here before the fire consumed the third floor as well.

"Think we can jump?" Yuri asked.

Estelle peered at the concrete three storeys down. "I doubt it."

"You might be able to make it, Flynn," Yuri said. "You can still heal pretty well."

He shook his head. "I'm not leaving you guys behind."

Estelle shrugged off her jacket and handed it to Yuri. "Wave this out the window. Get someone's attention."

Yuri obliged and waved it like a flag. "Hey! Up here! Helloooooo!"

"What happened to Judy and War?" Estelle asked.

Flynn's face tightened. "I'm not sure. All three of us were fighting, but she distracted him and told us to go get you."

"Judy will be fine," Yuri insisted. "She's tough as nails and I bet by now War looks like roasting Swiss cheese."

"I just hope we're fine, too." The cold night air hit Estelle's face, while heat from below rose up to assault her back. The other side of the room was on fire now, but firefighters had arrived. With Yuri waving her jacket as a flag, she was sure they would bring a ladder around soon. The racks on this floor had caught fire now, too. In a few minutes, they'd have to evacuate to the fourth floor to avoid burning, where the smoke would be even worse and they'd be even farther from the ground.

"You know," Yuri coughed and then continued when he could breathe. "It sure would be nice if Death would show up. He said he saved me last time 'cause the Horsemen were interfering. Why isn't he here now? War was definitely interfering."

Yuri had a good point. For that matter, why hadn't Death shown up when Alexei tried to kill her? Or Cumore? If he was so against humans being killed by Horsemen, why hadn't he shown up to help at any other time they were in danger? She took a quick breath through her nose and then coughed, eyes watering.

"W-wait," she coughed out. "Maybe… maybe it was because he  _knew_  you were going to die. All the other times, we managed to get out ok. But  _that_  time, he knew you weren't going to make it."

"So that means he trusts us to make it out of here without his help?" Even with his head stuck out the window, Yuri buried his face in his shirt to cut back on the smoke. "Sure wish he'd tell us how."

Then Flynn raised his head and looked back at the fire. His eyes widened, but it wasn't from the shock of seeing how close the flames were getting. "What if that's what God does, too?"

"Huh?" Yuri frowned at him.

"What if the reason God hasn't interfered in any of this is because He knew we could handle it on our own?" Flynn's voice became steadily faster. "I said that the Lord allows humans to suffer because without it, you would never have any need to overcome. Maybe that applies to angels, too. If we rely on Him to sort out our problems every time we struggle, then we'll never grow. We talk about having faith in Him, but what if the strongest amount of faith is what  _He_  has in  _us_? He didn't get involved when Phaeroh gave me that unjust order, because He had faith in me to do the right thing, and I rewarded that by losing mine in Him. It would have to be a dark day before humans needed an omniscient, all-powerful force to solve their problems."

Yuri's voice was hoarse when he said, "That's great, Flynn, but I'm not sure this is the time to talk about theology."

"It is! Because God didn't abandon us - I'm sure of it."

Flynn wrapped his arms around both their waists and climbed onto the windowsill. Estelle's feet left the ground and Yuri said, "Hey, what are you-?"

Flynn leapt off the building. Estelle yelped as her heart rushed to her throat, and then golden wings spread from Flynn's back. She stared through the shimmering feathers at the fire consuming the building as they drifted gently to the ground. In the distance, an ambulance siren rang like a bell.


	18. Hang a Shining Star

Estelle sat on the edge of an ambulance. Now that the fire had been extinguished, the absence of heat made the night feel unnaturally cold. She shivered and pulled the blanket tighter around her shoulders.

Yuri lowered an oxygen mask from his face. "Nice to be cold, huh?" He sat beside her and leaned against the ambulance wall.

She smiled. "Never thought I'd be this happy to be cold." Her wrist didn't hurt anymore. Right after they landed, Flynn had healed it and then snuck away into the crowd to avoid awkward questions from all the firefighters, police, and paramedics milling around.

"Seriously. I had decided not to go to Hell because I didn't like all that fire and brimstone, and now this."

"And that's the only reason?"

"Sure." He smirked and then went back to breathing from the oxygen the paramedics had given him.

Estelle had been given oxygen too, but she was able to breathe fine now. Yuri said it was probably because she'd been smarter about breathing through her scarf and hadn't been running around panting for breath in a fist fight next to a fire. "What are you going to do now? Are you going to go back to Heaven with Flynn?

Yuri shrugged and shook his head. After a few more breaths, he said, "Nah. I'm happy for Flynn and all, but his little theory about God trusting us to take care of ourselves doesn't cut it for me. Death's not omniscient, you know? I don't think he  _chose_  not to come those other times. He just didn't know we needed help. He knows when and where people will die, and since we weren't going to die there, he didn't get an alert." He coughed into his elbow. "But God  _is_  omniscient, supposedly, so He would have known we were in trouble. It's all fine and dandy to let humans take care of themselves, but once your own henchmen start mucking things up, that's when you say 'oops, my bad, let me take care of this for you'." He took a deep breath through the mask.

"So you're going to stick around as an atheist angel? Well, former angel."

Yuri grinned through the clear plastic and gave her a thumbs up.

Estelle scuffed the pavement. They were in the parking lot behind the warehouse now. Immediately after landing, there had been a lot of commotion. Paramedics making sure they were all right and assuring them they had been very lucky, firefighters wanting to know how it started and cops asking for information on Ragou. They had been left alone now, as they all had other things to do. Bystanders had started crowding the street to see what was happening and got corralled by the police, the paramedics had moved on to the firefighters that had been injured, and the building was being stabilized now that the main fire was out.

"I've been thinking about it a lot myself. And I think… it doesn't matter whether God exists or not. If Flynn's right and He doesn't get involved because He wants us to take care of things on our own, then that would be nice. But if you're right and He's gone… well, either way He isn't going to swoop in and fix things. Whether God is there or not, we must rely on each other above anyone else." She looked up and saw the deep blue of the light-polluted sky. "It seems funny, doesn't it? Christmas falls just after the longest night of the year. These are the darkest, coldest nights of the year, but we made them the happiest and warmest. It wasn't anything supernatural that made Christmas so full of love and joy, it was people. Christians made it Christmas, and long before that pagans started the midwinter celebration. Even if God doesn't directly involve Himself with people, worshipping Him has brought so many people together and created so much joy."

"Not always joy." Yuri lowered the mask and crossed his arms. "I lived through the crusades. The Spanish Inquisition. Witch trials."

"Well… that's true." She fiddled her hands together. "But think about all the horrible atrocities that have happened in history. A lot of communist dictatorships were atheist and murdered religious people. And there are awful people today who kill people in the name of Islam, and people who kill thousands of innocents because of their ethnicity without bringing religion into it at all. Bad people have always done bad things, and sometimes they excuse it with religion. I think, though, that bad people would still do those bad things even without religion, they'd just find something else to blame it on."

Yuri took a few more puffs of oxygen and then said, "Like those crazy Christians who protest funerals? As if God would ever approve of that."

"Yes. I think… religion is like a tool. Whether it's used for good or evil depends on the person holding it. If you would kill someone because of religion, then you were already a person who would be willing to kill someone."

"So what I'm getting out of this is that religion is like Die Hard."

"Um… I don't think that's what I was getting at."

"No, no, hear me out. The bad guys were just in it for themselves, but they pretended to be terrorists to further their own ends. They pretended they cared about some great ideals when really they were just selfish thieves - like how bastards throughout history murdered and plundered because they wanted to, and then tried to hide their motives behind the church."

Estelle gave him a bemused smile. "If that helps you understand it… ok."

Yuri shrugged. "You're probably right. In all my years kicking around this planet, I haven't noticed a strong correlation between virtue and spirituality, or cruelty and atheism, or vice versa. Decent people become decent Christians, awful people become awful Christians and continue to be awful to people. So, hey, do what you want."

"So that's why I think I want to get involved with my church again. Even though I don't know if I'll ever properly believe in God again, I love the community and kinship. It makes me feel connected to my mom, and to the long legacy of the church. I love the religion itself, and what it can mean to people."

Yuri nodded. "Well, I'm glad you figured out how you feel."

A police officer pushed through the crowd toward them, and Estelle perked up when she recognized her. "Judy! You're all right!"

Most of her exposed skin was smudged with ash and blood, but she grinned when she arrived. "You doubted me?" Yuri moved his legs so she could sit between them. "Sorry it took so long. The medics on the other side of the building wouldn't let me leave."

"You're not hurt, are you?" Estelle asked.

"Nothing serious. They gave me some oxygen and patched up the bits that were bleeding." Then she smiled and added, "War got it worse than me."

"You took care of him, then?" Yuri asked.

She nodded. "As much as you can take care of a Horsemen. I used up almost my entire clip - it was like trying to shoot a grizzly bear. But, as tough as he may be, eventually the ratio of flesh to bullets tipped in my favour. I kicked him into the fire and then got the hell out of dodge. I know he'll be back, but hopefully not soon."

"Impressive you got out of there," Yuri said. "The whole first floor was an inferno."

"I wouldn't have if the firefighters hadn't shown up to start spraying water everywhere." She pouted and added, "But I suppose this means I owe my life to the fire department. I'm never going to live this down back at the station."

Yuri dropped the mask to his chest. "I've got some bad news for you, Judy. I've been watching these guys and I had an idea. You know how I've been trying to figure out what I should do as a human?"

"Oh, no. Don't you dare, Yuri."

"I think I'd like being a firefighter. You never hear about corrupt firefighters, right? And there's never an issue of wanting to help someone but not being able to because of rules. If the house is on fire, you put it out. Pretty simple. I'm only human, so I know I'm not going to make much of a difference if I keep trying to work by myself, but as part of a team, I think I could really save some lives."

"I think you would be a great firefighter!" Estelle beamed at him. "Although, how are you going to do that without any form of ID?"

Yuri's enthusiasm waned. "Yeah… that's something I still have to figure out. And they probably want me to have a high school diploma, at least. This might get tricky."

"As a cop, I'm obligated to tell you it's a terrible idea because the fire department is dumb and full of people too stupid to pass the police exam, but as your friend I think it's a great idea."

"You don't have to figure it all out tonight," Estelle said. "But I think you should do it." She looked back into the sea of people milling around. From the outside, the building didn't look too bad. A lot of the windows were charred, but the red brick walls were untouched. Then she spotted someone standing near the building, ignored by everyone walking by.

"Um… just a moment, I'll be right back." With the blanket wrapped around her shoulders like a cloak, she left the ambulance behind and wove through the crowd. Everyone was too busy to pay her any heed. "Hello," she said when she came level with Death.

He glanced down at her. "Greetings once again."

"Um, why are you here?"

"A man called Ragou lost his life."

"But, you can't be  _everywhere_  that death happens. There are hundreds of people dying all over the world every second."

"Indeed. I have many places to be."

"You collected Ragou's soul, then." She clasped her other hand around the blanket held around her throat. "He's really dead."

"He is decidedly deceased. I believe the charred remnants of his corpse were pulled from the wreckage some minutes ago."

Estelle swallowed and shivered. "Did I… did I kill him?"

Death's gaze bore into her. "Why does this concern you? He planned to kill you."

"I know, but did I?"

"It is true that your actions immediately caused his death. However, it was his own choices that led him to that position."

"So it wasn't…" Her head turned to the ground. "It wasn't like a murdered him, right?"

"It is not my place to ascribe a judgement of morals to death. I merely know the facts. You caused his death, but it is highly likely both he and you would have died if you had not. It was his own choices that caused his circumstances."

"I see. Thank you." She wasn't sure if she would ever feel good about what she'd done, but she didn't feel awful about it either. It had been self-defence, and he brought this on himself by kidnapping her in the first place. She would remind herself of that every time she thought about the way he'd screamed when he dropped into the fire.

Death started to walk away, but then Estelle raised her head. "Please, wait. I have one more question."

"I am not here to pacify humans' emotions toward death."

"I know, but I just have to ask - you're really there for  _every_  death? Even if it means being in multiple places at once?"

"My existence is not limited to a human's perception of space or time."

"So, that means you met my mother."

Death met her eyes and she forced herself not to look away. "I did."

"Did she… um… say anything?"

Death stared at her for a long moment. "The living are not privy to the affairs of the dead."

"Please? I just… I just want to know. Your colleagues spent the last month trying to kill me. I think it's too late to worry about keeping me ignorant of celestial things."

She endured another long stare, and then he nodded so imperceptibly she might have been imagining it. "She said 'I will not be sad. I got to spend seventeen years watching my daughter grow into a young woman who will carry my legacy with more grace than I could have hoped for, and there's no beating that.' I apologize for the grief my colleagues caused you."

Her eyes watered, but she smiled. "Thank you."

"With your banker dead, War has no means to procure money from you short of directly robbing your bank, and there are wealthier people in the world if he wants be so blunt. Since he no longer has any need of you, Conquest and Famine will likewise have no need to antagonize you. You are not likely to see any of them again."

She could feel a weight melting from her chest. "That's good to hear."

"And for now, goodnight, until we meet again." He nodded, and walked away.

Estelle felt lighter than she had in months as she started to walk back to the ambulance. Halfway there, she heard someone scream her name and a second later a tiny missile crashed into her.

"Oof! Rita?"

"Estelle! Oh my god, are you ok?!" Rita stepped back but continued gripping her arms. Behind her, a cop stopped running. He'd probably been trying to stop her after she ducked under the caution tape, but didn't bother kicking her out once Estelle wrapped her in a hug.

"I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I saw the fire on the news and then there was a shot of Yuri's car crashed into the building and I just knew you had something to do with it. Stop getting hurt!"

Estelle giggled. "I'll try, ok?"

Rita followed Estelle back to the ambulance, where Flynn and Raven now stood with Yuri and Judy. "There she is," Raven said with a grin when she arrived. "How are ya?"

"I'm ok. Thanks."

His grin slipped. "Hey… sorry about leavin' ya with Ragou. I didn't think… it was stupid of me."

"It's fine. I could have asked you to stay, or put it off until you could, but I didn't think it would be a problem either. What happened with Alexei and Cumore?"

Raven laughed. "I led 'em on a great goose chase. At the border I told the customs guy I was glad he wasn't gonna search the car, so of course he pulled us over and then Alexei and Cumore spent twenty minutes standing around glaring at me while they searched Alexei's car. They didn't find anythin', of course, but it was a great waste of time. Then we drove in circles because I kept 'remembering' which way War had gone. We were almost at Dahngrest when I finally got a text from Judy sayin' it was over."

"Weren't they mad at you?" Flynn asked.

"Oh, I'm pretty sure I lost my job. I just said, 'whoops, turns out he was back in Zaphias but the situation is under control now, oh well' and flew away before they could kick my ass."

"They're going to kick you out of Heaven?" Estelle asked.

"Nah, they can't do that. They'll just give the Horsemen a new lackey and I'll get demoted to some other branch. Sorry, Judy, but I might be leavin' the force if I'm not gonna be livin' on Earth full time."

"Great. I'm losing my partner and Yuri's going to go join the enemy."

"You don't have to say it like that." Yuri had put the oxygen aside by now. "You sound as indignant as Flynn did when he thought I might be going to side with Satan."

"What's this about joining the enemy?" Flynn asked.

Yuri grinned. "I've decided to become a fireman. Pretty cool, huh?"

Flynn returned his smile. "That's great, Yuri. I'm glad you found something to do with your life."

"So what are we doing now?" Rita crossed her arms and checked over her shoulder. "My parents are waiting behind the police tape. They're pretty worried."

"Oh, no, I should probably tell them I'm ok," Estelle said.

"If the medics say you're ok, there's no need to stick around," Judy said. "Raven and I can take care of talking to the police and firefighters."

Rita tugged on Estelle's arm. "Come home with me tonight, Estelle. I mean, just, my parents will probably insist anyway."

"I'm going back to Heaven for now," Flynn said. "There are some thing I need to discuss."

Yuri stretched against the wall of the ambulance. "I need to get home and feed Repede. When you're done talking to the police, you guys can come by and finish watching  _Die Hard_  with me."

"And we should all get together tomorrow!" Estelle threw out. "Um, as long as that doesn't interfere with any other plans. I don't really have much food at my place… and I can't really cook… but my apartment is a good size for hanging out."

Yuri nodded. "Sounds good. How about if I send you a list and you can pick up some grub, and I'll cook dinner if you host?"

"Hopefully I can make it," Rita said. "My parents will want me home but with all the crap you've been through, they might let me spend it with you."

Estelle hugged her tightly. "Yay! I hope so."

Yuri hopped off the ambulance. "Guess I'd better get going and catch a bus home." He gazed at the wreckage of his car and heaved a sigh.

"Don't bother, my parents will give you a lift," Rita said. "I've already mentioned you to them. If I tell them I let you take the bus home they'll yell at me for not offering."

Yuri held out his hands. "If you insist." They said goodbye to Judy and Raven and set off to find a medic to make sure they were allowed to leave.

* * *

Niren's door was open when Flynn arrived. He poked his head in and asked, "Are you busy, sir?"

Niren looked up with a smile. "I can spare a moment. It's good to see you."

He closed the door behind him and sat across the desk. "Is there still room for me here?" It had only been about an hour since he got his wings back.

"'Course there is. I was hoping you'd be back."

Flynn smiled. "I wasn't expecting to, but I'm glad I am."

"Mind if I ask what changed your mind?"

Flynn folded his hands in his lap. "Honestly, I think it was influenced by something you said. God gave me a mind with free will, and the strength to fight on my own two feet. Why would He give me these things if He didn't expect me to use them? If God solved all our problems, we would never have an opportunity to learn and grow." All he wished was that Yuri could come around and see things his way. Well, not really. He didn't want Yuri to change, because if Yuri suddenly started agreeing with Flynn on things he wouldn't really be Yuri anymore. Flynn just wished that Yuri could stick to his beliefs but also go back to being immortal.

"Good enough for me. It should go without saying that Phaeroh is angry with you."

Flynn grimaced. "I guessed."

"He heard your faith was reinstated, but I got a message that you were not to be allowed back into Heaven without penance."

Flynn's heart sank. He'd been so happy to be home, but he should have known it wasn't so easy to regain a position in Heaven. "What would he have me do?"

"He left it up to me. Basically, he wants you to perform some lengthy, tedious mission on Earth to prove you're serious about coming back. So, I was thinking, permanent guardian angel duty is a pain in the ass, right?"

"Often." Nobody liked babysitting a human for their entire life when they weren't actively in danger and never had any direct interaction.

"How about I send you down to Earth to guard the girl for the rest of her life? You know… just in case any of those Horsemen are feeling vengeful, and to satisfy Phaeroh by giving you a terribly tedious job for several decades."

"Really?"

Niren smiled at him. "Human lives are short - enjoy your friendships while you can."

"Sir… thank you."

He waved his hand. "Don't thank me. You're being punished, remember?"

"Heh, right."

"I'll get everything set up. We're not going to just drop you down there to fend for yourself."

Flynn nodded, recalling how Raven hadhad a much easier time of it than Yuri. Heaven could provide flawless paperwork giving him a false background. "Do you know what's going to happen to Raven?"

"Who?"

Wait, that was the name he used as a human. Angels called him something different. "Schwann. The angel in charge of the Horsemen's needs."

"Oh, him. I'm not sure - it's not really my division. I heard on the grapevine there had been some trouble and the Horsemen were upset with him. You don't want his job, do you?"

Flynn quickly shook his head. "No, I have no interest in serving the Horsemen. He's coming back to Heaven, right?"

"Probably."

"I was just thinking, perhaps I could take his Earth job. If Heaven could work things out, I think I would enjoy being a police officer."

"Now there's an idea. I'm sure we can work something out. So," he crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair, "everything settled then? You go down to Earth and live in Zaphias for a little while. Look out for Estelle, help people in trouble, be an upstanding pillar of the community, and sixty, seventy years from now you can pop back up here and get back to work."

"I think that sounds satisfactory. Is it all right if I go back down now? I was thinking of spending Christmas with them."

"Sure, go, I have nothing for you to do here now. Have a good time."

"Thank you, sir."

Sodia was waiting for him in the hallway. Flynn stopped when he saw her, and then said, "Hello."

"You're back."

"Surprised?" He approached slowly. It wasn't lost on him that the last time he'd seen her, she'd nearly killed Estelle.

Sodia hesitated until he was right in front of her. "Relieved. Have you regretted your actions, then?"

"No. I do not think that killing Estelle was the right course of action."

She wrinkled her brow. "I don't understand. You still reject your orders, yet you returned to Heaven?"

"I decided I don't need to follow orders from Phaeroh to be an angel. I'll take my commands from God Himself, and in His absence, I'll trust the heart He gave me." He had never been more firm in a belief. No one could tell him that this wasn't good enough for being an angel, because the wings he'd flown in on said it was good enough for the Lord.

"I see…." She clearly didn't.

"I don't hate you for what you did. I know that to the majority of Heaven, you were in the right. Maybe things would have been easier if Estelle had died there, but personally I'm glad things turned out otherwise."

"I am, as well." She hung her head. "I don't like the idea of killing humans. I'm glad things worked out. But… they nearly didn't, and I don't think it's responsible to risk millions of lives for the sake of one."

"It was probably rather reckless," he conceded with a nod. "I'm not sure what I would have done if I didn't have a personal relationship with her."

"But you're back now, and it's in the past. We can move forward from here."

"Actually, I'm not staying for now. I'm in temporary exile to Earth for a few decades until Phaeroh lets me live up here again."

She covered her mouth. "You what? Oh, no, that's awful."

Flynn shrugged. "Actually, I think I'll look at it as a sort of vacation. It'll be fun, I think." And this time, he'd experience the pleasures of Earth as an angel, which meant none of that nonsense about feeling weak from not eating or having to go lie down for eight hours every day and waste so much time.

"Oh… I hope you don't get too lonely."

He thought about spending a lifetime with Yuri, Estelle, and the others, and smiled. "I don't think I will."

* * *

Estelle didn't have a tree. There was nowhere to buy one on Christmas day, so while Yuri and Judy worked on dinner, she, Flynn, and Raven carefully constructed one out of cardboard and construction paper. They took turns holing up in Estelle's bedroom to wrap last-minute gifts, and by the time Yuri set the turkey on the table they had a good pile of gifts. There was a minor argument over what movie to put on in the background. Yuri tried to sell everyone else on a weird British movie about a bureaucratic dystopia and torture which he  _swore_  was set during Christmas and thus appropriate, but they ultimately settled on  _A Christmas Story._

When dinner was over, Estelle suddenly felt guilty. She toyed with the cheap plastic ring on her finger, which she'd worn since pulling it out of her cracker, and realized she hadn't thought about her mom once during the entire dinner. Not while they attempted to decipher the cracker jokes and why a human being had thought they counted as comedy, not while laughing as Yuri gathered up everybody's paper crowns, wore them all, and declared himself King of Christmas, and not even while Flynn and Yuri ended up having a sword fight with candy canes. She felt awful to have completely forgotten about her mom on Christmas of all days.

But then, she decided that it was better this way. This morning, Flynn had accompanied her to church. The service was small, simple, and brought her to the verge of tears because she knew her mom would have loved it. She didn't cry, though, because Flynn sitting beside her filled that empty space where Mom ought to sit. He could never replace her, but having someone else to lean on made the emptiness bearable.

Tonight was the same. She didn't stop to dwell on whom she had lost because she was too caught up in the wonderful people she had gained, and she was pretty sure Mom would be happier this way. 'I will not be sad,' she had said to Death. That meant she wouldn't want Estelle to be sad, either. It was Christmas and she had found a new group of people to spend it with. She hadn't even known them for a month, but it was amazing what almost dying multiple times could do to accelerate a relationship.

Rita arrived when they were finishing desert, bearing gifts of her own. She added these to the pile under the cardboard tree, and then the group migrated from the table to the sofa to open them.

"I hope I bought appropriate gifts," Flynn said, sitting cross-legged by the tree. "Yuri and I were in a bit of a rush yesterday morning and I've never participated in human Christmas before, so…."

Yuri ripped the paper off a lumpy package from Flynn. Estelle noticed that Flynn had meticulously lined up the patterns on the paper where he taped them, but Yuri had ripped right through them without looking too hard. "Oh my god. Flynn. No."

"Is there a problem?" he asked innocently.

"What is it?" Judy leaned over the arm of the chair to see what was in his lap.

Estelle, right next to Yuri on the couch, had a good view and began giggling. "That's wonderful, Flynn."

"Show us," Rita demanded, leaning around Estelle.

Yuri held up a knitted maroon sweater with alternating bands of candy canes and snowflakes. "I'm not wearing this."

"Don't be rude, Yuri," Judy said with a coy smile. "You  _have_  to wear it."

"Oh, dear," Flynn said with a carefully neutral expression. "Is it not a style you like?"

Yuri chucked it at his head. "How long did you spend trying to find one ridiculous enough?"

Flynn laughed as he pulled it away. "I thought it was perfect for you." He tossed it back and said, "I'd like to see you wear it."

"Yeah, Yuri," Raven said. He leaned against Judy's chair and pulled the paper off a new watch from her. "You gotta put it on."

"All rright, fine!" He pulled the paper crowns off his head and pulled the sweater on. Then he stood, carefully repositioned all five crowns, and held out his arms. "How do I look?"

Estelle couldn't help laughing. "Now you're truly the King of Christmas."

"Here," Yuri grabbed a rectangular gift from under the tree and shoved it in Flynn's lap. " _Some_  people actually bought their friends things they might actually use."

Flynn pulled the paper away to reveal a cookbook. "What are you talking about? I'm an angel. I don't need to cook."

"Well you weren't an angel when I bought that, so shove it. Besides, if you're going to be bumming around on Earth for a while, you might find it useful."

"I don't know," he stared at the book in his hands, "cooking is an awfully complex art."

Yuri rolled his eyes. "The first page has instructions for how to cook bacon in the microwave. I think you can handle it."

There were more gifts to give out. Boxes of chocolate for Yuri, piles of books for Estelle, a chemistry set for Rita, and admittedly some gift cards because they'd all had a rather stressful Christmas and no one blamed the others for not having time to come up with thoughtful gifts amid all the chaos. The most expensive gift was from Raven to Flynn, because he was heading back to Heaven while Flynn was moving down here so Flynn got the keys to his apartment. His car went to Yuri, who joked off his honest appreciation for being given a car by claiming a vehicle that didn't take half a block for the brakes to kick in wasn't  _really_  a car. Near the end of the present distribution, Estelle pulled out a bag stuffed with tissue paper that had been sitting by the back.

"This is for you, Yuri."

He had already broken into the box of cream-filled chocolates from Judy, and then licked his fingers and wiped them on his pants (ignoring Flynn's disapproving look) before digging into the bag. When he pulled out the contents, he announced, "Cool! Paper! My favourite!" Then he turned the sheets over so he could actually read what was on them.

When he didn't immediately comment, Estelle said, "It's an application for a birth certificate. I called my mom's lawyer this afternoon - well, I guess she's my lawyer now - and told her I had a friend who didn't have one. I said your parents were hippies who were into home birth and then never bothered getting the paperwork done. She said that if you submit that form and get it signed by someone who's known you for a few years and is one of a few professions including a police officer, you can get a birth certificate."

"Really? It's that easy?" He flipped through the forms, looking for the catch.

"It'll probably be a bit more complicated once ya get inta it," Raven said, "but I'd be happy ta lie ta the government and swear you were born in Zaphias."

"As long as you're lying for my benefit this time." He kept shuffling through the papers and stopped. "What's this? This one isn't about a birth certificate."

"No, that's an application for a class to get your GED. I included a cheque to pay the admission fee."

Yuri frowned. "Hey, I appreciate it, but I feel weird taking money from you."

Estelle shook her head. "Think of it as a student loan. You can pay me back once you get a proper job. Once you get your birth certificate, you can apply for a social insurance card, and then a driver's license, and a bank account… you just need to get set up with a legal presence in the world."

"Wow… thanks. I mean it. Thanks a lot, Estelle."

"You're welcome," she beamed.

When the movie ended, Estelle changed it to a channel playing Christmas music. She started to read one of the books Rita had gotten her while Rita flipped through the element list of the chemistry set. Judy curled up in her chair like a cat, Raven played a Christmas-themed knockoff of Candy Crush on his phone, and Flynn stretched out on the floor and studied advanced recipes like sunny-side-up eggs and boiling pasta.

"What's my father's name?" Yuri had a hardback book and a pen to go through the birth certificate form with his legs pulled up on the couch. "I don't have a father. The closest I have to a father is God. How do you spell 'Jehovah'?"

Without looking up, Judy threw out, "In the Latin alphabet, it begins with an I."

Raven pulled his eyes from his phone. "Here's a tip, Yuri, if you fill out your form in Latin, the government will get mad at you."

"You can't put 'Jehovah' as the name of your father," Flynn said. "What, are you going to put 'not-applicable' for mother? They'll reject it thinking it's a joke."

"Well, what's your brilliant idea, oh master of birth certificates?"

"Uh…. John?"

"Don't use 'John'," Estelle said. "Since this  _is_  made up, you need it to look as realistic as possible. You can't use filler names like John and Jane."

"Fine. Joshua." He printed the name as neatly as he could. "And my mother is… Eve."

Raven snorted. "You are one of the only humans in the world who could  _not_  claim ancestry to Adam and Eve."

"I like to break the rules. Birth year… well there's no spot to put 'BC' so I guess I'll lie about this one, too. Ok, what year was I born?" He looked around at the others. "How old do you think I look?"

"Make yourself twenty-one," Judy said. "Old enough to get booze in the States, but young enough to have a lot of wiggle room for why you age slowly."

"Good enough for me."

It had been dark for a while now, and the others should be heading home soon. Rita had permission to spend the night, but the original plan had been the others would come for dinner and then leave around eight. But, they were so comfortable, and the weather outside was frightful, or at least rather cold. As long as they didn't mind sleeping on the living room floor, she wouldn't mind having overnight guests.

This hadn't been her best Christmas ever. In fact, it had been one of the worst, considering how many brushes she had with death in the lead up. Surprisingly, it wasn't the worst. It was still better than last year's, which she attributed entirely to the wonderful friends she'd made. Christmas would never be the same without Mom, but she looked forward to having new, different sorts of Christmases from now on. Despite everything, they had muddled through somehow and she was indeed having herself a merry little Christmas.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and thank you for reading! I hope you had a lovely day even if you weren't celebrating anything. Thanks again to Anongel for prompting this story.


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